


Resurface

by MsMiaMimi (Mc_Mimi)



Category: Devilman (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Amon/Satan, Anal Fingering, And Other Another Monster things, Biblical References, Biblical Reinterpretation, Canon-Typical Violence, Consent Issues, Exhibitionism, Hand Jobs, Horny Teenagers, Intersex!Ryo, Lets Go to Mount Fuji, M/M, Mounting, Plot what no wait actually there's a plot, Post-Canon Fix-It, Post-Season/Series AU, Public Blow Jobs, Real Estate Agents Are evil and Deserve What Coming to 'em, Rutting, Sort Of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-23
Updated: 2018-10-15
Packaged: 2019-03-08 14:00:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 23,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13459746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mc_Mimi/pseuds/MsMiaMimi
Summary: Satan looks around the aftermath of the Holy Hosts’ fury, the salt and the rocks and lava.  The destruction of everything yet again.  But he’s been left alone in the center of it.  He hears the voices of his brothers in their great spheres.  At first, he thinks they’re mocking him.Perhaps this strange world with two moons is what’s owed to him after everything he’s been through.  Perhaps he deserves it.  And without hearing the song of his Brothers anymore, he grows confident he’s on the right track.  And later he will think about that confidence.  And the conclusions that led him wrong and remember that Pride is the worst sin.  And God is wrathful.  And takes as easily as he gives.





	1. and it was good

Two moons in the sky.  And the memories of all his past lives behind him.

Satan looks around the aftermath of the Holy Hosts’ fury, the salt and the rocks and lava.  The destruction of everything yet again.  But he’s been left alone in the center of it.  He hears the voices of his brothers in their great spheres.  At first, he thinks they’re mocking him. 

But their voice turns to song.  A song he hasn’t heard in a long, long time. 

**_“Be at peace, Brother.  You may take the first steps towards your redemption._ **

**_“Be at peace, Brother.  You are always forgiven.  You are the Light Bringer.”_ **

**_“Be at peace, Brother.  You have known love.  And He loves you in return.”_ **

Satan cowers under their scrutiny, his physical body dissolving while his spirit slips into the innards of the world.  Deep into the molten rock.  A mix of carbon, iron… ashes.  Tears.  Satan’s mind and memories form a shell that settles deep beneath the surface.  And he sings for the first time in a long, long time, understanding he’s been given a second chance.

“…thank you, Brothers.  Thank you, Father.  Thank you.   Thank you…”

 

* * *

 

His punishment would have no weight if there was no memory.

And this time around, he’s been granted perfect knowledge of all his past selves from the start.  He walks the fresh new garden of his Father and plays his part in temptation.  But this time, he obeys.  When the humans learn to crawl along the surface, he works as his Father’s agent to test the new mankind.  And they prove to be resilient.  Sometimes they’re disappointing with their failures and weaknesses.  And he pushes too far.  Far enough to feel his Brothers hold him back, **“ _Be patient, Brother.  Let them prove themselves.  Be easy, Brother.  Let them be.  Let them be.”_**

And he does.  Generation after generation.  Watching over souls.  Housing the failures, not judging them and knowing this time it's not his place.  He walks between Hell and the surface dimension with many names and shapes and faces.  But one name comes back time and time again, while he waits for one soul to be reborn.  He almost gives up hope of ever seeing his beloved friend again.  But his Brothers sing to him when he needs strength.  **_“Be patient, Brother.”_**

Satan watched the birth of every major faith, including the execution of the Christ child.  And he wakes up one morning in an era of technology and doubt.  The people are spiritually at their weakest in a long time.  And the demons have started preying on them in greater numbers.  And he lets it pass.  He’s wearing the face of Ryo Asuka and carved for himself a simple life.  Shied away from the luxury of an easy one like he had the last time.  Seventeen years old, but he’s a teacher again.  A professor at a community college with a simple apartment, sharing knowledge and testing his students. 

And it actually gives him hope.  He sees people of no spiritual faith trying their hardest to just be _good_ for _goodness_ sake.  And he knows now that is all Father ever asked for.  But for every one of the souls trying, there is another that could easily fall prey to a demon.  Not just because of vice but because of weakness.  Fear.  Ambition.   And Ryo worries he’ll see another ending, another cleansing.  And never hear Akira’s voice again.

**_“Be patient, Brother.”_ **

Ryo walks with his eyes closed from the little corner store down the street from his apartment.  The sun is bright and warm and on his skin.  And he takes a moment to sing back, “ _Thank you, thank you.”_   He’s grateful just to have the chance to be himself again.  To have such an experience.  He is grateful for his plain studio apartment and its simple white décor.  He is grateful for the sound of people moving about their day.  He is grateful.  He is thankful.  And most of all he _remembers_.  And he is humbled by those memories.  He holds his bags closer and walks with a smile knowing he’s but 666 steps away from his front door.  And that knowledge makes him smile harder.

“Excuse me, sir.”

Ryo stops at step 663.  He looks down and gasps.

Akira Fudo, alive and exactly the same.  A boy with tears in his eyes and holding a phone to his chest.  “Excuse me, sir.  I’m sorry.  But do you have a phone I could borrow?  I think something’s happened to my parents.  And my phone died,” he holds it out to Ryo.  He looks like a soft baby again.  No sign of possession this time.  But he doesn’t know Ryo.   “I’m sorry.  But please, please…”  He sobs openly.

Ryo smiles down at him and sings back to his Brothers and Father, _“Thank you.  Thank you.”_

 

* * *

 

Akira is indeed named Akira this time around.  And Ryo wonders at it but doesn’t question it.

He takes the boy up to his apartment.  He skims through Akira’s surface memories and learns they are again the same age.  Akira looks younger and smaller and more vulnerable.  But he’s actually a few months older than Ryo's present vessel.  Akira doesn’t question Ryo not letting him use his cell or the invitation to his apartment to use the landline.  He goes up the steps two at the time while Ryo follows, counting down.  “ _66, 65, 64…”_

Ryo keeps his distance after letting them inside, pointing to the living room where his phone sits on the edge of his coffee table.  He takes off his shoes and puts on his slippers then moves with heavy steps to the kitchen.  The whole thing seems like a dream.  It’s unreal.  It's impossible.  But he hears the crying in the next room and smiles.  Ryo puts away his things and starts a tea kettle.  He gives Akira some time to settle before walking back out with his offerings. 

Akira sits curled on a stranger’s couch.  The phone slips from his hand and drops to ground while he sobs.

Ryo puts the tea down and picks up the phone.  Then bends down and removes Akira’s shoes.  Akira gasps, “I’m sorry!  How rude of me!”  He yanks his feet away and puts his shoes in his own lap.  “I didn’t mean to… on your beautiful white rugs…”

“Hush now,” says Ryo.  He wipes the tears and puts his hands on top of Akira’s to take the shoes.  “It’s not like you’re dirty or anything.  They’re just rugs.  And you’re in pain, aren’t you?  Please.  Tell me what happened.”  He stands up and lets the story come, even though he’s already guessed it.  Akira’s parents have died.  This time in a plane crash on a mission over the Gobi Desert. Ryo leaves the tea and joins the boy on the sofa.  His heart is cold to the deaths, and he hears a warning from his Brothers.  Not a song, but a ringing in his ear he can’t ignore.  He coughs into his hand until his thoughts clear.  Avarice and envy are sins, after all.   “I’m sorry to hear that.  Is there… anyone I can call?  Where do you live?”

Akira shakes his head, “With my family.  My godparents... and their kids.  They’re missionaries.  They’re good people.  They deserve to know what happened to their friends, but…”  He hiccups and covers his face, “I just can’t move.  I’m sorry…”

Ryo reaches out to give him a careful pat on the shoulder.  He’s not expecting Akira to turn, cry out loud and bury his face in Ryo’s white shirt.  Ryo tentatively wraps his arms around him and feels his chest hurt like its too full of something he can’t name.  His Brothers’ voices rise again, warning him.

“It’s not fair!”  Akira sobs harder, “I never saw them!  I never even saw them!”  He beats Ryo on the chest, “It’s not fair!”

Ryo combs his fingers through the dark hair, memories of a childhood they shared eons ago at the forefront of his mind.  And a cruel instinct to put an end to a sad creature’s suffering.  He stamps down on the thought and sighs.  “Life isn’t fair.  But though… we’ve only just met.  I think…”  he pulls Akira head up to look him in the eye, “I think we can be good friends.”  He bites down on his impulse to take and own Akira with the absolute certainty that Akira would submit.  Even now with a tragedy like this looming between them.  He heeds his Brother’s voices and offers a simple kiss on the forehead.  “Stay as long as you need.  I’ll be right here waiting for you, Akira.”  He says it with such honesty he shocks himself. 

And Akira, beautiful innocent, pure-hearted crybaby, sobs again and weeps on his shoulder.

 

* * *

 

 

Over the next few weeks, Ryo wonders if this is a test.  He grows suspicious of every encounter.  Bumping into Akira at the corner store, he learns the boy and his foster family moved to his neighborhood just a month ago.  Akira talks about the quiet ceremony held for his parents.  About failing his studies at school.  Being a mediocre athlete and a big brother to his foster siblings.  He seems happy and normal if a little sensitive.  His heart is still two or three sizes too big for his little frame and he smiles easily with sadness around his eyes when he offers Ryo a hand to take up his groceries.

They start to meet after school, Ryo offers to tutor him officially.  He hesitates to accept payment from Akira’s foster parents but does so anyway.  It would be best, he thinks, to keep their relationship formal.  Without the memories, anything closer would be one-sided, reasons Ryo.  He’s not willing to suffer that.  But he overestimates his own strength to carry on with the boy close to his side for an hour every day.

One day while trying to get a simple equation through Akira’s head, Ryo snaps and throws the textbook across the room.  He shouts and accuses Akira of being lazy on purpose.  And stalks off into his bedroom, slamming the door and ignoring the choir of voices in his head.  He has a feeling the real reason he’s upset is more carnal.  Something to do with the hazy light in the room, and Akira half dozing with his shirt riding up when he’s supposed to be paying attention.  Ryo sits on his bed and hangs his head, determined to control himself and his feelings.

Akira comes to the door and taps gently before speaking through it, “Ryo?”  He’s only just stopped calling him ‘sir’ after learning Ryo’s age.  “I’m sorry.  I promise to try harder.  I really do.  It’s just hard sometimes to see what you mean by these things, what the books mean… it’s all just so many scribbles…”

Ryo closes his eyes and sighs, he skims the surface of Akira’s sleepy thoughts and laughs to himself.  “Dyslexia.  Dyscalculia.”  He is a teacher with _eons_ of experience.  He should know better.  Ryo shakes his head and gets up and opens the door after taking a deep breath and telling himself to be patient.  “I’m sorry.  It’s not your fault.  I know some methods that can help you manage and remember.  But are you ready to put in the work?”

Akira looks up at him, smiling with tears in his eyes.  He gives Ryo a little salute, “Yes, sir.  Ready when you are.”

Ryo rubs his knuckles into the top of Akira’s moppy hair, “Good.”  He pulls away, forgetting they aren’t what they were before.  They’re still new friends and can’t share easy embraces and touches.  And worse, they are teacher and student.  He sighs, moving on from the depressing thought, “I have to make sure you graduate high school after all.  Then you can really call me sir when I’m your professor.”

Ryo is surprised when Akira punches him in the shoulder, “As if.”  He throws an arm around Ryo’s neck ignoring Ryo’s inner battle with propriety, “I’m going to walk into your class every day and call you dude in front of all your students.  Nothing but disrespect a mile wide,” he grins and gives Ryo a tight hug before turning back to the living room.

Ryo watches him move and tilts his head.  In this world, baby-faced Akira is growing at a faster pace.  His shoulders are broader.  His stride a little longer.  No sign of Amon needed for the beautiful man he could be to start appearing.  Slowly and naturally.  As things should be.  Ryo joins him and repeats to himself, _be patient_.  He wonders how his own body will age this time.

 

* * *

 

 

One year into knowing Akira again, Ryo prays less to his Father and Brothers.  He has everything he needs.  Akira is by his side.  He lives a simple, happy life.  He doesn’t have to task humans with trials, but barely sees any evidence of demonic influence.  He starts to let his guard down, thinking that the world is finally as it should be.  Perhaps finally, finally his patience has yielded reward.

Perhaps this strange world with two moons is what’s owed to him after everything he’s been through.  Perhaps he deserves it.  And without hearing the song of his Brothers anymore, he grows confident he’s on the right track.  And later he will think about that confidence.  And the conclusions that led him wrong and remember that Pride is the worst sin.  And God is wrathful.  And takes as easily as He gives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know... maybe a lot was lost in translation in the English dub of the Netflix series, but I didn't like it. DEAR MALE TV WRITERS IT IS POSSIBLE TO WRITE STORIES ABOUT SEX AND VIOLENCE WITH A PLAUSIBLE PLOT AND CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT EVEN IN JUST TEN EPISODES OMG (LIKE LOOK AT FANDOMS THERE ARE CHICKS HERE DOING IT EVERYDAY FOR FUCKING FREE AND ITS WAY MORE SATISFYING *Pats fandom on the back* Y'all rock by the way.
> 
> Anyway, I did like the potential these two idiots had and (despite nearly being smited- smote? ((I had an asthma attack :P)) I started this mess right after watching. Please leave kudos if you like so I know if I should continue.  
> Thank you for reading ^_^


	2. dust to dust

Fucking is not an option.

But Akira is a red-blooded seventeen-year-old, who thinks of little else in his spare time.  Ryo builds walls around those idle thoughts of faceless bodies and warm skin.  He keeps the obvious solution to Akira’s ‘virginity’ problem to himself.  In this new vessel…  in fact, in every incarnation, since his eyes were opened to his feelings he’s kept himself untouched.  And it's only now he realizes he may have been saving himself…  It’s a laughable thought.  And he dares not think it when Akira is around.

But at night, when he’s alone, he thinks of the full-grown body of his best friend taking him.  Or taking the sweet, crybaby to his bed after a study session… And it starts to weigh on his waking thoughts.

And fucking is not an option.  He’s not sure why, but he can’t let his one-sided love taint this new chance to have everything he wanted for millennia.  So, he wakes in the early morning, and in the center of his massive bed and clean white sheets, takes himself in hand and deals with his problem.  With memories of another Akira, wild and perfect.  Sweet and forgiving.  In a world where there’s just the two of them.  He chases perfection and comes with the thought he had nearly had it.  And it was ruinous.  And _lonely_.  Nothing is worth risking that again.  And he has a feeling that even without a summoning, Amon would know.  Amon would seek out any weakness or change in Akira and find him and usher in the fall of all their happiness.

And that is not an option.

So, fucking is not an option.

* * *

Akira is doing much better at school and fast on the track to joining the top of the class for his senior year.  He’s filled out many admission packets but decided to settle for taking mechanic courses at Ryo’s college.  He loves machines, and with his new-found skills in decoding math, he has the aptitude to become a decent engineer. 

Ryo struggles with doing something for Akira’s upcoming eighteenth birthday.  He’s taller and more filled out, but not quite the creature he was when possessed by Amon.  Ryo wonders if buying a car or motorcycle would be considered too extravagant for ‘just friends.’

And he gets his answer two days before Akira’s birthday.  The lanky teen marches into the apartment, opening the door with his spare key (given with the pretense to water plants when Ryo is away).  He drops his bookbag on the floor and storms into the kitchen with a giant grin, “Guess what I got!”

Ryo sighs and with a quick look knows the answer.  He deadpans, “Your driver’s license.  Finally.”

Akira’s face falls and Ryo and has to turn away to keep from laughing.  Akira crowds him by the sink counter, “Hey!  How’d you know!  How do you _always_ know what I’m going to say!?  It’s impossible to surprise you!”

Ryo turns his head, thinking this is far too close.  “You’re just easy, that’s all.  You’ve talked of little else all week.”

Akira sinks, resting his head on Ryo’s shoulder and wrapping his arms around his waist while he sobs.  “Yeah, but it's not fair!  I want to surprise you sometime, you know!  You can’t know everything all the time!  Life would be so boring.”  He pulls away and looks around the apartment, “Then again.  You are pretty dull.  White rugs.  White furniture.  White finishings.  Everyone thinks you must be color blind or something…”

Ryo pushes Akira away and steps away, hiding his discomfort with a put-upon frown.  “That’s not a very nice thing to say to your sponsor.”

“My what?”

The light goes on in Ryo’s head and there’s little he can do with it.  He is the Light Bringer, after all.  He can’t help being brilliant.  “Your sponsor,” he says professionally.  “I believe in you, Akira.  And I’m going to do everything in my power to see you make it as an adult.  You have to promise me you’ll work hard!  I don’t want to see you fail.  So, for now on, whatever you need, you can come to me.”  He puts up some dishes with his back to his friend, “And don’t bother feeling guilty about it.  I live this way to stay grounded.  But honestly,” he turns with a wide smile and loves that Akira smiles back without knowing why.  “I’m really a billionaire.”

Akira falls to the floor in a heap.  And Ryo and smiles at his form.  “Idiot.”

* * *

 

 

When Akira recovers on the couch he launches a thousand questions.  Since when has Ryo been rich?  Where’s all that money, exactly?  In a bank vault?  Buried treasure?  What’d he do?  Did someone die?  What exactly can he ask for anyway?  Does Ryo have any gold bars stashed in the house?  Why don’t they eat out more often?

Ryo laughs through the questions and ignores them all.  “You’re missing the point, birthday boy.  I’m saying you can have anything you want.  And I’d like to reward you for all the effort you put into school the last year, with the promise that you’ll keep on working hard.  Can you promise that?”

Akira nods, “Absolutely!  But anything?  Really?”  He scratches his head and it's comical, peeking inside and seeing thoughts of dinners and terrible flashy shoes and cats.  So many cats.

Ryo sighs and suggests the one thing he was worried about, “How about a car?  Or a motorcycle to get around?  You can take me to class every day!”

Akira frowns, “A cool car like yours!  Wait a minute… That sounds a lot like being a chauffeur.”

Ryo leans forward, and they bump heads while smiling wide at each other.  “Maybe.  And you can start calling me Mr. Asuka.  And wear a black suit all the time.”

Akira laughs and bumps their heads again before surprising Ryo with a kiss on the nose.  He pulls away with his mind open with love and grateful thoughts.  It’s a beautiful thing to spy on and Ryo wishes it would never end.   

But it must, thinks Ryo.  Ryo sighs, “Look at us.  Anyone just looking in would get ideas,” he says carelessly and hastens to hide his blush.  He starts to get up and move away but Akira catches him by the wrists.

Akira leans in close again and gives him the same familial kiss on the nose.  And a slow, knowing look to Ryo’s lips.  “Don’t forget.  I’m actually your senior.  There’s nothing I need you to protect me from, Ryo.  But I’m right here…”  He sighs, lifts his right hand and traces his index finger across Ryo’s bottom lip.  “And I see the way you look at me sometimes.  I was going to wait a few months… but…”  His hand shakes and then he pulls back, “Do you think… maybe.  Do you think maybe we could be like… _maybe_ … um…”

Ryo panics and gets up, his heart hammering in his chest, “Don’t be ridiculous!  I’m not a child like you are!  I’ve always been on my own!  _Always_ since as long as I can remember!  And you _do_ need protection!  Especially from me!  I’m not what you think and I’m not going let people look at us and think I’m taking advantage!”

Akira stares at him from the couch and Ryo is nervous, thinking his friend is going to start crying at any moment.  So, he nearly falls over when Akira barks out a laugh and stands up, takes his hand, kisses the knuckles and looks him in the eye.  “Anyone dared think badly of you… I don’t know what I’d do.  I won’t allow it.  I love you, Ryo.  You’re my best friend.”

Ryo blinks away unshed tears, the memory of the last words he spoke to half a body flooding his mind.  “No, please.  That’s not allowed.  I’m afraid.”  He doubles over, feeling close to showing his true form and flying apart at the seams.  “Please.  Don’t say that to me.  I don’t deserve it.  After what I did…”

Akira kneels, and innocently kisses Ryo on the forehead before pulling him into a hug.  “It doesn’t matter about the money.  I already wanted to be with you.  This doesn’t change anything.  It’s not like you killed someone.”

Ryo chokes on a whimper and hides his face in Akira’s neck, hating everything all at once.  “Stop.  Just stop talking.  Go home, Akira.”

Akira rubs circles on his back until his breathing starts to even, and pulls Ryo into his lap on the floor, holding him, rocking him.  “I am home.”

* * *

 

 

Despite thinking of himself as strong and unmovable, Ryo learns that he doesn’t have Akira’s stamina when it comes to crying.  He cries himself to sleep and wakes up in his bed, still clothed with his phone on the pillow.  He checks it and finds a message from Akira:

_I’ll be back after dinner._

_Love,_

_Akira. :)_

 

And what a terrible thing to wake up to, thinks Ryo with a wail.  Things have progressed far too quickly.  And he’s at odds with himself.  And tries to find comfort as he has for all these years in the song of his Brothers.  But they’re silent in the wake of this catastrophe.  Ryo curls into a ball and pulls his hair, internally screaming.  He didn’t mean for this to happen, “Please!  Anyone, please!  Father listen to me!  Help me!”

_“That’s quite the noise you’re making, Master.”_

Ryo closes his eyes tight.  If he keeps the sight out and ignores the stench, it won’t be there.  He’ll be alone.  Pathetic and alone like he’s supposed to be. 

_“It's been a long age since you walked your Dominion.  And the gatekeepers worry.  Didn’t you promise to lead us to glory?  Have you forgotten?”_

Ryo shakes his head, “Go away, Jenny.  There will be no more trials.”

“But what about this one?  You told us to find our paths to redemption while you experimented with this… this foolish act of piety.  Obedient to the old master again.  And you would have us dragged down with you when you fail.”

Ryo sits up and levels the monster with a glare.  “How dare you!  How dare you speak to me like that!”

“I’m your guardian!  I was built to keep you safe and remind you of your true self.  Your true purpose.  And you are wasting our time!  We have to prepare!  Summon Amon!”

Ryo hardly thinks as a shield of blazes around the bed and stands up in its center.  “No.  He stays put.  And if you question me again…”

“He is already loose.  Or can’t your far-seeing eyes detect the unrest?  The others freed him.  And even now he prowls this world looking for his perfect host.  Waiting for your command to usher in the end of humanity!”

Everything old is new again.  Ryo sheds his skin and the lets light purify the room and leave Jenny in ashes.  He settles down into his human shell and stares dispassionately at the mess.  “I’m not going to let any one of you take him from me this time.  Not you.  Not Amon.  Not even Father!”  The words are out his mouth before he can rethink them, and he bends over, there’s screaming, _ringing_ in his ears as his Brothers call out.  No more gentle pushing.  But a war cry.

Ryo steps off the bed and rushes to his balcony.  The city is black.  And somewhere nearby he can smell blood on the wind and hear screaming.

It was all a distraction.

And he fell for it.

* * *

 

 

Ryo rushes to a few blocks over where three firetrucks have answered the call.

There’s a crowd around a roped-off residence and Ryo wills the people to part like the red sea.  He marches forward, ready to destroy and rain down his wrath for anything that dares threaten his beloved.

But it’s too late.

The little family is gone and in its place are bloodied smears on the walls and Akira,  crying at the doorstep while emergency workers try to console him.  Ryo pushes past them and sits at Akira’s knee, “What happened?”  He tries to look for himself and finds it hard to pin any one thought down.  It’s a noise of darkness and grief in Akira’s head.

Akira sobs, “My family!  They’re gone!  They’re gone!”

Ryo pulls him into a hug and pets his head, “I’m sorry.  This shouldn’t have happened.”  He stops just short of confessing.  Confessing the truth about everything.

Akira is inconsolable.  He nearly faints, and the police and firemen want to take him in for questioning.  Ryo keeps them all arm’s length, throws his holy light’s influence around until they all think they have enough answers.  _This is a burglary gone wrong.  The family murdered while the son was out.  Nothing more to see here._ Everyone starts to depart; the dead bodies are carried away.

Ryo keeps Akira close, “Come home with me.  I’m sorry about earlier.  I had no idea…”

“Yes,” says Akira quickly.  “I want to sleep.  I just want to shut my eyes and wake up to this all being over.  It’s a living nightmare.  It happened again.”  He looks up at Akira through his eyelashes, “Am I cursed?”

Ryo shakes his head, “There’s no such thing.  Look at me!  I promise you, there’s no such thing.  But I’m sorry all the same.  Come on,” he leads Akira to his car and helps him to the passenger seat. 

Akira rests on the glass.  The ride back to the apartment is silent until the end.  “Then are you cursed?”

Ryo can’t answer that without driving himself half-mad.  He gets out the car and helps Akira up to his place.  He deposits him on the couch and heads for the kitchen, as if tea can make all of this better.

 

* * *

 

People do stare at them.

It’s nothing Ryo should worry about at first.  The surface thoughts are full of pity.  Thoughts like, _oh poor boy who's seen so much tragedy. How nice of that young professor to take him in.  I understand they are best friends.  Never out each other’s sight.  Those two are attached at the hip. What’s going on in that apartment?  A couple of bachelors, but they never have girlfriends.  Well, you know what that is. How old is that teacher boy really?_

Akira seems blind and deaf to the scrutiny.  He’s doing what he was asked.  Studying hard.  Keeping up at school and doing surprisingly well in track.  He’s hyper-focused and keeps a fake smile plastered on his face.  It’s like he’s all out of tears again.  And Ryo is terrified to let him go, lest he realizes.  What if he learns the truth.  What if he blames Ryo and pushes him away.  Ryo learns to keep a fake smile too.  He sleeps in his room at night reaching out to the stars hoping for an answer.  While Akira sleeps in a foldout bed in the office.  They haven’t kissed since that awful night.  And Ryo feels like he’s at the edge of the cliff, waiting for Akira to push him into the water.

At this point, he’d welcome the simplicity of drowning.

 


	3. fearfully and wonderfully made

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU SO MUCH !!  
> I was not expecting any reaction to this story (since my usual peeps are kind of squicked by the anime and I can't get anyone I know to watch it :{
> 
> THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU ^_^

The nights of Ryo letting idle fantasies drive his hand are over and it just becomes easier to do without.  He simply can’t touch himself when Akira is in the next room.  So, Ryo gets up with the sun and is careful to never cross paths with Akira in the shower.  Over time things loosen up between them, but they don’t talk about the kiss.   They don’t talk about the murders.

Ryo leaves safeguards in his home to protect against demons, but if anything as powerful as Jenny wants to get in while he’s out, it will.  He worries about the demons in the lower echelons and skips teaching one morning to walk through Hell.  He finds it barren and bleak as usual.  The prisoners always hide in his presence.  But this is different.  It’s almost like Hell is empty.  Ryo searches for the sacred site where he himself chained Amon to a cross. 

And all that is left is ash and rust.

He returns to Earth’s dimension quickly, desperate to find if Akira is whole and well.  He keeps his distance and spies on the boy as he moves through the neighborhood. Akira picks up their meals and drives too fast on his new motorcycle.  When he opens the door to the apartment he gives Ryo a bright smile and lays out their things, unaware that his friend was just miles and miles away, watching him from space.

The local newscasters call his appearance in the sky a shooting star and Akira tells him over dinner how he’d wished he’d seen it. 

Ryo is silent with his head bowed and hands clenched.  He’s truly afraid for perhaps the first time in his existence.

 

* * *

 

“We should get a bigger place,” says Akira suddenly at breakfast one morning.  He fans himself dramatically with the cereal box.  This summer is turning out to be surprisingly hot.  And Akira starts classes in the next month.  He graduated with decent marks and Ryo feels very proud of him.  But what the boy’s doing at the kitchen counter is fucking criminal.  Spread out like he melted on his stool.  Baggy boxers clinging with sweat to his skin even after a shower.  And he hasn’t bothered to pull down his sticky undershirt yet.  He just lays there panting and ignoring his bowl of sugary cornflakes.  “We should get a way bigger place.  With central heating and air.  I stress the air.  God damn it, why is it so fucking hot today!”  He kicks at Ryo’s stool, “You look like a damn grandma in that housecoat.  How can you stand it?!  Today of all days!”

Ryo elects to ignore him and finishes a slice of a melon and some water and looks through his phone.  But he tracks a bead of sweat that started on Akira’s forehead and moves down his face, then his long neck.  Akira has the audacity to lift the shirt and wipe his face.  He’s physically perfect, thinks Ryo.  Even better than the body given to him by Amon.  And that’s just so very unfair.  It just snuck up on them.  And Ryo wonders how he didn’t notice.  He drums his fingers on the counter before climbing down and offering an explanation.  Talking might take his mind out of dangerous territory.  “There’s nothing wrong with the building.  It’s a brownout.  Power is out for the whole block.  Otherwise, I’d be watching tv right now.”  He points to the living room, its quiet without the noise on for once.  “Or hadn’t you noticed.”

Akira acts like he didn’t hear, “We need a bigger place.  With a pool!  And a game room!  And indoor gym!  And a…”

“Hey!”  Ryo slaps him on the back of the head, “It sounds like you’re planning to spend an awful lot of my money.”  

“Absolutely, grandma!”  Akira grins and tugs on one side of the robe until Ryo slaps his hands away.

Ryo straightens the bathrobe and starts to tell Akira it’s nothing like a damn grandma would wear, but he catches his friend staring at his bare legs.  Ryo blushes and moves on, “I’m not a grandma.  And I haven’t any proof you’ll succeed in life yet.”  He means it as it a joke of course, but…

Akira wails, and Ryo smiles, having missed the sound of his ridiculous crybaby.  Akira gets up and follows him, “I will succeed!  I’ll make you proud of me!  I promise!  But first, I have to live that long!”  He falls to his knees and wraps his arms around Ryo’s waist, “Please!  Please buy us a bigger place!  I promise I’ll get a job and pay rent and everything!  I just can’t take feeling confined here anymore!”

Ryo rolls his eyes, “Tenancy huh?  Well.  That is a good way to make long term money.”

Akira lights up, shaking Ryo hard by the waist until they both almost fall over.  He tickles Ryo’s bare calves before hugging his legs again, “Yes, that’s it!  Think of it as being a rich, old miser!  You’ll make money off me in the end!”  He stops and stares up seriously, “Wait is that it?  You’re the monopoly guy?”

Ryo laughs and laughs.  It's hard to resist feeling light and easy-going with the one person who doesn't despise him.  He breaks several of his own rules about keeping distant when Akira follows him to his room.  For the first time in a long time they have a pleasant day in, shopping for their new home and making plans for a future.  They bump shoulders while laid out in Ryo’s bed and staring at his undying phone.  After Akira finally makes up his mind about a place near the college with plenty of space, Ryo takes pity on him.  And with a flick of his energy, the power for the whole block comes on.

The air blows in the vents overhead and Akira sighs, “Finally!”

Ryo blinks like he’s surprised, “They must have realized people would riot.”  He turns to Akira with a smile and pauses when he sees a shadowed look on his face.  “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” sighs Akira.  “Just hate that word is all.  It’s so damn ugly.  I don’t want to think about it.  There’s so much bad happening in the world all the time.”  He flips over on his back and covers his face with his arms. 

Ryo’s mouth waters at the sight but he turns away.   He can barely remember why he’s holding out in times like these.  He calls out for his Brothers and gets no answer.  But if he’s being challenged, wouldn’t it be for something more important?  What’s more trivial than giving in to carnal desires?  There was never any apple in the garden, after all.  Sodom and Gomorrah didn’t fall because of gay sex.  And he’s not the fool he was before.  He won’t let Amon anywhere near his crybaby.

Akira groans and kicks his legs, “And another thing!”  He kicks until the sheets are mussed and Ryo scowls at it.  Akira sits up on his elbow, “Aren’t you tired of waiting yet?”

Ryo holds his breath.  Perhaps he heard wrong.  Maybe his hearing is going in his old age.  Oh right, he thinks.  He’s actually the younger this time.  “I beg your pardon?”

Akira levels him with a challenging stare, smirking with his eyes locked on Ryo’s.  “You heard me.  Aren’t you tired of making us wait for it?  Don’t you love me anymore?”  Ryo stares with his mouth hanging open before he remembers himself and starts to sit up, but Akira throws himself on Ryo. “Or are you just keeping me here out of pity?”

Ryo struggles, “Stop it, this isn’t funny, Akira.  Get the fuck off me!”

“I wouldn’t hurt you, you know.”  Akira smiles down at him, “We could keep taking it slow, but I don’t see any point in denying it.   I want you.  And I know you want me, too.  Say it.”  He shakes Ryo by the shoulders.  Ryo glares at him for it.  “Ah shit,” says Akira leaning back, looking like a kicked puppy.  “Damn it.  I didn’t hurt you just then, did I?”

Ryo could overpower him if he shed the human shell, but he can’t think of anything except where their bodies are pressed close.  And Akira’s half hard cockhead is slipping out the end of his boxers, sliding along Ryo’s thigh.  The sensation is electric, and Ryo is almost paralyzed with want.  The robe is split up the middle and there’s nothing to stop them getting closer.  Akira’s hand slide down to push open the top of the robe and Ryo panics.  He swats at Akira’s hands.  “Don’t!”

Akira recoils, “I’m sorry.” He sighs and starts to get up, but something catches his eye.  “Wait a minute…”

“No!”  Ryo wrestles half-heartedly, letting at least part of his secret come out.  He turns his head to the side and closes his eyes.  “I didn’t want you to see me like this.  I’m… not normal.”   He peeks out expecting any number of things from Akira.  Questions.  Disgust.  But not the perverse interest that’s so obviously there.

Akira rubs himself against Ryo and intelligently notes, “You have a dick.”

“Yes,” bites out Ryo. Akira’s hands hover over his discovery.  They’re smaller than Ryo’s real form but still unmistakably breasts.

“And _these_.”  Akira has the gall to squeeze Ryo’s chest.

Ryo shoves him but not enough to throw him off.  “Yes, you idiot!  Damn it!”

Akira grins, “Wow!”

“Stop that!  It’s not a damn novelty act!”  Ryo can take any form and he thought Akira would be more hesitant with one like this. In his last life, he covered up before his memory returned.  His body was always soft and strange to him when compared to other young men his age.  But that was before he remembered, and now he is just far more comfortable so close to his real self.  Akira squeezes him again and Ryo rolls his eyes, “Stop.  That.”  He didn’t think Akira would act like he won the fucking lottery.

Akira licks his lips, his hips grinding down while he pulls open the sash and he smiles down.  He looks almost sinister as he takes everything in, “I see now,” he says while laying shaking hands on Ryo’s bare chest.  “You thought I wouldn’t want… Wait.  Are you a man with breasts or a woman with a penis?”

Ryo closes his eyes.  “Neither.  You idiot.  I’m just me.”  He’d like to kick Akira off the bed, but this body is sensitive from being untouched for so long.  And it can be anything Akira wants it to be.  He feels himself changing in answer to Akira’s thought.  His singular focus is on having Ryo spread out under him.  And Ryo doubts there’d be much thought to stretching from a novice like his crybaby. He can’t hold back a moan when Akira curiously rubs the nubs with his thumbs.  Then dips his head giving Ryo a quick kiss just over the heart.  Then a kittenish lick to his collarbone.  Ryo moans and moans again, squirming under the attention.

Ryo bites his lip and looks around the room like the sounds came from another person.  He shakes his head, trying to remember the very concrete reason This Is a Bad Idea.  But why can’t he have this?  Didn’t he earn this with years and years of good behavior?  He played the part asked of him.  He kept Hell locked down.  He tested those when he was tasked to and he did it all for such a long time.  Doesn’t he deserve some reprieve?

“Ryo,” says Akira more hesitantly.  “I’m sorry.  I don’t mean to push.  You want me to stop.  Just say the word… well… again. And I’ll back off.  I’ll go back to the office.  And I’ll just think of you.”

Ryo frowns, “You haven’t been ‘thinking of me’ on the upholstery when the bed’s up, have you?”

Akira laughs, “Well just the once.  I cleaned it up, I swear.”  Ryo finally shoves him off.  Akira laughs and flops over, smiling up at Ryo.  “You’re beautiful, Ryo.  I won’t push you any further, though.  Promise.”

Ryo covers himself and looks away.  He could see himself falling for this.  But even after the cleansing, he remembers in perfect detail what Jenny looked like in the corner of this room.  And he remembers the broken chains he found in Hell.  And suddenly all his fears have a stranglehold on his desires again.  He crosses his arms, and then his ankles.  “It's not that I’m not ready.  I’m scared for you, Akira.  And I don’t want you… to feel like you owe me something.”  That’s partly true.  And another part is harder to shake off.  Even with Akira’s consent.  Even knowing he can destroy Amon with a look.  He’s terrified of sharing life with a boy that will stand in for the one person that really loved him.  But this Akira could never love him enough.  What’s a year or two of friendship compared to what they had before?

Akira is touching himself, oblivious to Ryo's true struggle.  And it’s hard to think.

“This isn’t a no,” starts Ryo.  He puts his eyes back on the corner, but the sound of harsh breathing breaks him.  He damns himself with a look over his shoulder.

Akira strokes himself, shoving his hand through the slit of his boxers before raising his hips to kick them off.  His cock is thick and long and dark with blood.  It looks fucking _delicious_ , thinks Ryo.  Akira strips out of his shirt as an afterthought and lays there with his legs spread.  “Then get over here.  And touch me.  Anywhere.  Let me touch you again.  Please, Ryo.”

“Don’t beg,” says Ryo shaking his head at the sight.  His own cock is hard, and he reasons Akira still needs a teacher.  Perhaps if they take things slow…  If he satiates this need for now it wouldn't be so all-consuming.  And they can go back to a balanced life.  “Just the once,” he sighs letting the robe fall off his shoulders.  He crawls back over and straddles Akira’s legs, lines their cocks together up and takes them both in one hand. Akira writhes under him and other thoughts just fall from Ryo’s mind.  Right here and now is all that matter.  It’s not enough to just move together.  He bends to steal a kiss, deep and hot and perfect.

They end up stroking each other’s cocks, rutting until they’re both sticky and desperate.  Ryo guides Akira's free hand back to his chest and lets him pinch and knead until they’re both panting.  Moving faster and faster, as they both chase orgasms.

Akira comes first over Ryo’s hand and Ryo strokes him through it, rubbing and twisting his wrist until Akira’s legs are shaking under him.  “Fuck,” says Akira.  “Look at you…”  He sits up, panting while his hand slows down but his grip gets tighter, thumb rubbing hard over the head and slit of Ryo’s uncut cock.  He pulls Ryo up higher, steadying him with a hand under his ass and inexperienced fingers slide down Ryo’s cleft and circle his hole.  Akira mouths and licks at both breasts in turns before settling to suck hard on the left while stroking Ryo faster.  One long finger crooks just in the circle of muscle and push in up to the knuckle.  Ryo sees white behind his eyes as he comes and comes and comes.

He collapses, thighs shaking and out of breath.

Akira lets him down on the mattress and lays down carefully beside him.  “Thank you.”

Ryo feels stronger despite the weakness in human legs.  He could go and go and go.  He could teach Akira all sorts of things before the sun is even high in the sky.  But he won’t.  Once, he said.  He sighs and feigns a sleepy yawn.  The yawn is contagious, and Akira huffs a breath over his shoulder.  Ryo combs his fingers through the thick dark hair and steels himself.  Perhaps he is weak for giving in.  But maybe it was the thing to do. Or maybe he’s deluding himself.  But Ryo’s mind is made up and he will not deny himself any longer.

Akira gives him lazy kisses on the shoulder before moving up to press soft kisses to Ryo’s mouth.  They turn in to each other, legs entwined and cocks softening in the slicked space between their bodies.  Ryo savors every second, every breath, and every quiet word shared that long hot morning.

* * *

 

They nap before lunchtime and Ryo takes the time to map out sunspots cast on the floor before getting up.  He puts his bathrobe back on and walks out to the kitchen.  He has a vague idea in his head he’ll surprise Akira with an elaborate meal.  And it makes him smile.  He opens and closes his cupboards, his hands moving on autopilot while he catalogs all the aches and places where he feels sore and stretched. They didn’t actually fuck, but he let Akira explore every inch of him.  It puts him in mind to better prepare himself and go back and take Akira properly.

What a wonder, he thinks.  This simple human contact made him feel revitalize in a way ten thousand sunrises couldn’t.  He can’t help the smile on his face while he pulls out frying pans and improvises a little menu.  “Maybe some pork.  He used to love pork belly.  And… and…”

Ryo freezes as memories of Akira rush to his mind.  Holding his friend by the hand.  No one else would touch him.  No one else… But Akira didn’t hesitate to reach out.  And he paid for it with his life.

_“You’re crying too!”_

Ryo sobs and falls to his knees on the kitchen floor.  Outside the warmth of the bed, he remembers with startling clarity all the reasons _why_ it was a bad idea. Not just putting Akira in danger again.  He is Satan.  If wants to destroy Amon he can.  _He can_.  _He did_.  But he knows that’s not the real reason he deprived himself.

That boy in the bed doesn’t know him.  That boy in the bed loves him but only because there’s no one else to love in his sad, tragic life.  It’s not his Akira.  Without his memories, it's not the same.  And Ryo knew, he told himself before this would happen.  A one-sided love.  How could he pour an eternity of love into such a small, weak vessel?  One that could barely give him anything in return… and it wasn’t Akira’s fault.  He didn’t know.  He wasn’t given his memories back.  He wasn’t punished for Ryo’s sins.

_“You’re crying too!”_

It’s not fair.  The voice of God always abandons him, just when he needs it.  There’s no agent to help guide him on the virtuous path.  Being _good_ for _goodness_ sake.  Being holy.  Ryo snarls and punches the floor, thinking it’s not fair.  He _is_ light itself.  He is _better_ than holy.  And even this gift… it’s not enough.  Not compared to what he really had. 

 

_“You’re crying too!”_

Ryo wipes his face and stands up, his mind made up on what to do next.  “No.  I’m not.”

 


	4. he boasts of the cravings of his heart

It’s not what he wanted. 

And what is _want_ , but avarice? Yet another sin.  What right did The Light Bringer, a mere instrument of His Will, have to want things for himself?  But Satan did want.  He held on to that thought.  When he fought in the first rebellion.  When he fled the spheres.  When he abandoned his mission and walked his own path.  While forging his own dominion out of Hell itself, he thought it constantly.  Every plot, every action turned back on him when he _wanted_ something.  And all he gained was chaos and death. 

It’s not what he wanted.

He always wanted so much more.

* * *

 

Akira stretches out on the bed, snoring softly with his legs spread, feet hanging off the side.  His hair is in pulled clumps and his thighs and belly stained with flaking white stripes.  He looks utterly debauched...  And Ryo takes in the sight like he’s worshipping a Madonna.  He kneels at the foot of the bed, bows his head and closes his eyes. 

“It’s different this time, I promise.  I’ll be here to protect you.”  In the forefront of his mind is the memory of his sweet friend, shielding him from the tempers of idiots.  Adults that didn’t understand him.  Children who were afraid.  If he had his memory then, he would have wiped them all off the planet, but he didn’t need to with his Akira standing up for him.  His brave little friend, willing to walk into any danger to protect anyone.  Stupid enough to use his own damn body…

Ryo looks down at his own naked lap and the steak knife on his thighs.  He’s not making this decision lightly, he tells himself.  He’s had ages to think of what he wanted for himself, what he was holding out for and this as close to an answer he’ll get.  Father is cruel.  He passed judgment on him the moment he disobeyed.  _One_ transgression.  He roped him along with His Voice, murmuring promises.  But that’s the way He works, thinks Ryo.  God’s infinite wisdom and mercy is nothing more than the power to manipulate man’s desire to be loved and known.  And it’s all Ryo’s yearned for, and what he thought he earned when he ran into this boy.  This _copy_.

But he can see himself far into the future, resentful and tormented by the past.  He can see himself chasing the shadows of memories, those few short years of lonely mortality that changed him altogether.  He can see himself losing everything.  So, Ryo holds out his wrist and slices a deep line.  “You’ll see, my friend.  This time will be different.  This time we _will_ be together.”

Ryo stands up on shaking legs and drops his robe on the floor.  He climbs onto the bed and crawls over to straddle Akira’s legs, his blood dripping patterns on the white sheets.  He smiles to think of how he chastised Akira for making a mess just before he fell asleep.  But now he dips his fingers in blood and draws a star just over Akira’s heart.  The boy sleeps on, unaware. 

“Amon.”  Says Ryo quietly.  He waits for a beat.  When nothing happens, he growls and climbs up higher on Akira, pinning his shoulder down while holding the knife to his belly.  “Amon.  I know you hear me.  I will not be ignored.  Amon!”

Akira chooses then to blink up at him sleepily.  He gives Ryo a soft smile.  “Hey, you.”  He tries to sit up but looks down and the air rushes into his lungs with a gasp, “Ryo!  What the fuck are you doing!”  He looks up at Ryo with tears in his eyes, “I’m sorry!  I told you to tell me to stop!  If I hurt you—“

“Idiot!”  Ryo cuts a line across Akira’s belly and keeps him down, ignoring his cries.  “They’re attracted to blood!  And this!”  He grinds his hips down, throws his back moaning as he wills himself to get hard.  “The violence.  Absolute debauchery!  Vulgarity!  He can’t ignore my summons!  He wouldn’t dare!”  Ryo laughs and looks down at Akira’s crying face.  The boy doesn’t try to fight back or try to stop Ryo from hurting him.  And it’s perfect, thinks Ryo.  Maybe the soul doesn’t remember, but he still has the perfect heart.  Ryo takes the knife up, and in one quick motion, stabs Akira in the chest, just in the center of the star.

“Ryo, no!  Please, you’re crying,” Akira reaches out, but not to protect himself.  He wipes away a tear at Ryo’s cheek.  Ryo pulls out the knife and slaps his hand away.  He watches with a straight face as Akira seizes on the bed, his eyes glassy while he goes suddenly still.  But he’s still alive, just passed out from blood loss.

Ryo laughs at the sight, “That’s it!”  He draws a star on Akira’s forehead, “That’s it!  I know now what I wanted, Brothers!  Do you hear me?!  Do any of you still see me!”  He sobs and tears his hands away, clutching them to his chest while he doubles over and cries.  “It doesn’t matter… Fuck _them_!  Amon!  I order you to my side!  I order you to merge with this sacrifice!  Give him his memories back!  Make him whole!   Make him mine again!  Come to me, Amon!”

There’s no change in Akira at all.  And Ryo chokes on his cries.  “No.  No…” His reasoning was sound enough, of course.  It was, it really was.  He sobs with his face in Akira’s chest, “No, please.  Come back to me. Don’t do this again.  Please, love.  Come back to me.”  A hand to the back of his head stops his crying.  Ryo looks up, thankful he didn’t fail completely.  There’s still time to take Akira to the hospital.  He looks up and sobs, “Akira?”

But the presence of the body has changed without changing.  The creature that looks down at him grins with a menace Akira could never muster.  Not on his own.  Ryo tries to pull away but the hand slides to his throat and squeezes.  “Don’t cry, angel.  Don’t cry.”

Amon doesn’t let up, his talons digging into Ryo’s neck.  Ryo starts to shed his human skin and defend himself but Amon loosens his grip.  He changes into his demon form before Ryo’s eyes.  The added bulk makes the bed creak and Ryo is soon just so damn small sitting on his chest.   “See me?  I’m right here.  I’ve always been right here.”  He strokes his talons through Ryo’s hair.  “Buried in this body.  My own memories locked away, but I’m awake now.  I just needed that push.  Thank you.”

“Amon?”

The thing laughs before pulling him close for a gentle kiss on the lips. “I have two names.”

“Say it,” pleads Ryo.  “Say it, please.”

“It’s Akira Fudo.  Akira.  I remember when Jenny took you away.  I remember thinking how much I was going to miss you.  And feeling responsible for you.  And loving you just so much.  I was scared you’d do something stupid, you know.  That I wouldn’t be there to protect you.”  He looks at the blood on his chest, “And here you are.  Still playing with knives.”  He changes back to boy Ryo’s grown to know.  His perfect body, healed.  The blood staining him, but not a mark on him.  He smiles up, “It’s not very nice, Ryo.”

Ryo tries to pull away, feeling ashamed and confused, “How can this be?  You don’t look… any different.  Not like last time.”

“Well, I’m not,” explains Akira.  He sits up and pulls Ryo into his arms.  “I was born with this thing inside me in this life.  I can hear his thoughts alongside my own.  It’s like wearing a demon skull… seeing into the past.  I know he escaped shortly after you came back.  And found me before I could leave my crib.  So here we are, fused perfectly for over eighteen years.”  He strokes a hand down Ryo’s arm, “And look at you!  I have such an appetite to sate.  My beautiful angel.  I remember you.  Please.  Let us have you again.”

“You…” Ryo eases forward.  “You’re not mad at me?”

“How could I be mad at you?  I love you, Ryo.  And I know you love me too.”  He gives Ryo a soft smile, “And I forgive you.  That’s what you want to hear, isn’t it?  I forgive you for destroying our old lives.  For tormenting me.  And murdering everyone I ever loved.  I can forgive you all that.  Because I love you more than any of them.”

The words ring false in his ears.  But Ryo _wants_ them.  Avarice might just be his worst sin.  And he can’t help it with Akira just promising him things.  Ryo mastered telling lies and half-truths.  He’s the damned god of it, after all.  He knows what he’s hearing isn’t the end of it.  And he doesn’t trust the being that been living under his friend’s skin.  But he agrees with it on one thing.  He still loves him.  More than he can say.

“Look at me, Ryo.”  Akira wipes a hand in the blood, “I’m filthy.  I’m going to wash this off, and we’re going to have a nice long talk about our future.  Imagine it.  You and me.  Anywhere in the world.  Anywhere in the universe, if we want.  But I’d be happy to live out this first life.”  He climbs off the bed and stretches like his new memories need room under his skin.  He then strokes his cock until it’s half hard.  “But first.  Turn over.”

Ryo blinks, “You can’t mean…”

“I mean you’re mine now.  And I don’t want you to forget it.  Now come here.  On all fours.”  He grins wide with sharp teeth, “Come worship at my altar, Angel.”

“Worship?  You…. Arggh!”  Ryo rolls his eyes and climbs off the bed on the other side.  “Don’t be an idiot.  I don’t have let you fuck me just because you’re back.”  He bends to the floor and picks up the forgotten bathrobe, and slips it on.  He crosses his arms and to keep it shut, hiding.  “You can say whatever you want.  It doesn’t really make you _my_ Akira.  You’ll have to prove it to me.”

Akira’s eyes tear up.

“ _Oh_ , stop it!” shouts Ryo, throwing up his hands.  “You’ll have to do better than that!”  He turns and leaves Akira to wash up on his own, unsated.

* * *

 

 

Satan sheds his human skin and flies far, far away.

He might finally have everything he wanted.  He narrowly missed an outcome that would have devastated him. And it’s still not enough.  He has to be sure.  He has to be sure it’s not a lie.  It’s not some trick.  He goes to the very top of the world and cries out to anyone who would listen.  “Father!  Is this real?!  Can I finally find peace!  Have you handed this to me!” 

No one answers his call and Satan wilts, sitting on top of an icy mountain wondering what really awaits him back in that small apartment.  His Akira is not the ambitious sort.  What if he means it, and they can just live out their existence together.  But the threat of Amon can’t just be ignored.  If this is all some plot by the demons who are conspicuously absent from their prison… 

His eyes widen as he puts it all together, “A distraction.  They know I won’t tolerate their machinations for dominion of the world.  Amon wouldn’t have to fight me.  He could just cover my eyes while the world falls into chaos all over again.”  Satan wraps himself with his wings, hiding his light.  “But I don’t care.  I really don’t care at this point.  I just want him back.  Is that so wrong, Father?  I just want my love.  You said I could find redemption in knowing love again, and he’s the one I love.  Not you.  Tell me now, that I’m forgiven.”  He snarls and yanks out feathers from his own wing, “Pray for me Father, for I have forsaken you, again!  And I don’t care.  I will do as I please.  And damn your fucking consequences.”

For all his defiant words, he still spends seven days and nights in solitude.  Just in case his Father has something to say to him after all.

 

* * *

 

 

There was nothing but silence on the mountain.  Ryo came home the long way.  He’s dressed in winter gear when he makes it to the airport and gets stares.  And he still wearing a new white coat when he buys a new, shiny car to take home.

When Ryo returns to the apartment, he’s surprised to find it full of sound and laughter.

He opens the door to the sight of Akira entertaining guests.  Two men and two women Ryo doesn’t recognize.  He scans their thoughts to see if they are demons but finds simple human ambitions.  They’re fighting over who will sell a young rich couple property.

Akira rushes to greet him at the door and gives Ryo a big hug that he can’t help but return.  He kisses Ryo on the cheek in front of everyone, “There you are!”  He turns to his guests smiling, “This is my partner Ryo.  He’s a Professor and always getting lost in libraries.  He must have forgotten our appointment.”  He ushers Ryo inside and takes his coat, “Come on.  You won’t believe the places they have.”

Ryo sits through the trivial meeting.  Akira charms the adults, telling them about how he lucked into his relationship with a very successful young man.  And they all but pinch his cheek and congratulate him for settling down with wealth in mind.  One woman with fake teeth smiles wide, “If I were twenty years younger, I’d certainly have a go!  Kids these days rarely have business on the mind.  It's good to see such an ambitious young couple, striking out while they’re still young enough to appreciate it!”

One man nods along, agreeing while his mind is full of filthy thoughts.  He imagines what Akira and Ryo look like in bed and he wonders if he can weasel his way into it.  He keeps close to Ryo, even putting his hand on his knee while looking Akira in the eye.  “Representation of the gay community is so important!  What you want to do is buy something big!  I have plenty of furnished private residences I can show you two personally…”

“Oh stop,” says the other man.  He hates being in the same house with ‘queers’ and he hates his fellow agents.  But he keeps a fake smile on his face, “They don’t want to be in some boring old mansion in the middle of nowhere.  They want to live life to the fullest.  I have properties in the city that will blow your mind!  You’ll be within walking distance to the best clubs, the best restaurants…”

The second woman is quiet and mousy compared to her peers.  She keeps close to Akira and looks at Ryo suspiciously.  A little digging shows she’s a friend of Akira’s late godmother and she doesn’t like the change in Akira’s circumstances.  She pats Akira on the shoulder, “I’d like to show you some houses in our old neighborhood.  Wouldn’t you like to be back home, Akira?  We all miss you, little Fudo.  And here I thought you were living with relatives after that unfortunate incident.”  She shines a fake smile on Ryo, “But I’m glad you’re being so good to him.”

Ryo gets up, “I don’t give a shit what you think.”

“Ryo!”  Akira stands up and circles the table, slapping Ryo on the shoulder, “Don’t be rude!  She’s a family friend.  She’s just looking out for me.”

“She’s looking for a commission.  They all are.  They haven’t said a single genuine thing since I’ve been here.  I can’t stomach that kind falseness for long.  I’m going out.”  He moves to the door, “Pick whatever you want.  We’ll go wherever you want.  But I don’t ever want to see them again, Akira.  They better not be here when I return.”

Akira pouts and turns to his guests, “Oh, he doesn’t mean that!”

“I really fucking do.”

Akira sobs and the mousy woman gets up to stand by him.  “See here!  I won’t have you talking that way to little Fudo!  You’re lucky I don’t report you for cradle snatching, you monster!”

Ryo turns to glare at her, but Akira stands between them, “Actually I’m the older one.  See?  So, it’s not a problem.”  He blushes and ducks his head, “And we’ve been close friends for a long time.  And you know what, Mrs. Sasaki?  We’re saving ourselves for marriage.  To be honest, we haven’t done more than kiss.”

Ryo wonders why Akira would bother lying but the women coo over this news and the men stand up to congratulate them.  “So, you’re getting married,” says the leech.  “Well done!  That’s something to celebrate!  How about a home on the beach with a view of the water?  A wedding right there at sunset!  And you can retire to your own luxurious home after?  How’s that sound?” 

They all quibble over listings again and Ryo tries to leave, but Akira takes him by the hand and excuses them in a small voice.  He takes Ryo to the bedroom and smiles, “Well?  What do you think?”

Ryo rolls his eyes, “I don’t care where we go live.  Or how much you spend, Akira.”

Akira looks puzzled, “What are you talking about?  I’m not buying a house from them.  I already found us a new place.  It’s being redecorated as we speak.  We could move in tomorrow if you want.”  He presses his ear to the door and smiles, “Truthfully I didn’t expect you to be back so soon.  So, I took matters into my own hands.  I called your agents and made arrangements over the damn phone.”  His smile takes on that sinister shadow that says Amon is speaking, “And all that work left me hungry.”

“What do you…”

“I ordered in!”  Amon grins, “And the boy can sleep it off when I’m good and full.”

Ryo is not bothered by the threat to the humans to the next room.  Not really.  But he does care about Akira’s soul.  His perfect, unblemished soul.  And the promise he made a lifetime ago.  “No.  I won’t let you do that to Akira.”

“Are you kidding me?!  We are the same thing now, and he wants what I want.”

Ryo shakes his head, “That’s a lie.  The Akira I know would never sacrifice a human life.  He’d do his utmost to protect them.”  He crosses his arms and squares off with the creature, “If you were really Devilman, you’d know that.”

“I’m not a damn Devilman.  I am _me_.  And I am _hungry_.  You’d dare deny me, my Angel?”

“You can cut that Angel bullshit out.  I’m not letting you taint Akira’s heart.  If you have a bloodlust to sate, you can go out and tear into demons, like he used to.”

Amon shifts into his real form and looms over him, huffing hot breathes of air on the top of his head, growling low and deep like an animal.  “It’s not your decision to make.  I’ll do what I please with this body, _little_ Angel.  And this time around I won’t let the boy’s sentiment for you stop me using my full power.  If you stand in my way…”

“You’ll what?”  Ryo doesn’t bother exerting his real power.  It’s not necessary.  He senses this a test of some kind.  He can see Akira behind the black eyes of the monster before him.  “I’m not going to break my promise.  I’d sooner kill you myself.”

Amon barks out a laugh, “Really!”  He shifts back to Akira’s form and his laugh is high and light.  “I can’t believe you said that to him!”

Ryo tilts his head, “Now you speak like you’re another person.  Are you my Akira?”

Akira shoulders shake, “Of course I am.  And I’m glad you still remember your promise.”  He looks at Ryo with a sincere smile that melts Ryo’s heart.  “Thank you for reminding me.  I get lost sometimes in here with him.  But I can do it again.  I can control the demon and be Devilman.”

Ryo doubts the words, “And the people out there?  You’re not going to let Amon feast on their innards?”

Akira blanches, his face scrunched up, “That’s just not right.  Ew, was he really going to…” he bends over and dry heaves, coughing into his hand.  When he recovers he stands up and throws his arms around Ryo’s neck.  “Thank you, for saving me from that.  Thank you!”

Ryo stands still letting Akira sob and sighs to himself, “What am I going to do with you.  You’re a mess.  And if you’re the genuine article, it's going to be hell to keep you managed.”

Akira pulls away, smiling through the tears in his eyes, “Well.  At least you’ll never be bored with me around.”  He steals a quick kiss and pulls away.  “I’m going to let them all go now… but you better stay right here.  You owe me more than a kiss, after all we’ve been through.”

Ryo doesn’t answer him or make any more promises.  He lets Akira go out to the agents and sighs in relief.  “Still my Akira then.”  He smiles softly to himself and looks up at the ceiling, his eyes seeing past it to the stars.  “Thank you, Father.”  He closes his eyes and starts to lift his voice in song.

“Ahhh!”

Ryo’s eyes snap open and he rushes out to the room.

In the space of a few heartbeats it’s become a bloody mess, parts unrecognizable strewn across the floor and coffee table.  Blood sprayed on the walls, the bookshelves, the television.  And there’s tinkering in the kitchen.  Ryo walks over the blood-wet floor and stares as Akira sits up on the counter sucking on the fingers of his left hand while stirring tea with his right.  He looks up at Ryo and shrugs, “There was a strange light in their eyes.  I thought they were demons.”  He sounds innocent enough, smirking with a cruel twist to his lips.  “My bad,” he says simply. 

Ryo strains to hear anything from the stars above. 

And he certain he hears laughter, twinkling from the skies.

* * *

 

 

It's not what he wanted. 

Ryo keeps his eyes shut while the monster lives beside him.

In the weeks after the summoning, he followed Akira’s lead.  Akira went to school and made new friends on his first day.  Proudly explaining his situation to anyone who would hear.  Two days of staring from the undergraduates in his class and Ryo decided to resign.  Yes, some judged him, some envied him or Akira for their open relationship.  But that’s not why he left.  He left after a third young girl went missing, seeming to disappear from the face of the Earth.  He left when he realized he was teaching in Amon’s new hunting ground.

Their new home is in the city, the top three floors of a ritzy building filled with shiny, earthly baubles.  And Ryo keeps himself there, watching Akira come and go as he please.

And when Akira comes home, he smiles and jokes.  He holds Ryo’s hand.  He coaxes him to eat and take care of his human vessel.  He takes him to bed.  He sleeps while Ryo stares up at up the sky, thinking it’s not fair.  This is not what he wanted.


	5. plans for welfare and not for evil

Ryo is aware there is some greater scheme amongst the demons and still surmises they plan to use Amon to control him.  But even knowing that, is not enough to propel him to action.  Sloth is his least favorite sin.  It's wasteful.  It's ugly.  Not as ugly as envy, perhaps, but it is foul in its uselessness.  He doesn’t care about anything anymore.  The humans would call it depression.  With things as they are, he’s willing to concede that point.  He’s depressed because of Akira’s tainted soul.  He wishes he didn’t have perfect recall, perfect accounting.  Then he could lose count of all the souls swallowed whole by Amon’s hunger.  But he doesn’t.  If the reports of the missing people and attacks in the city are right, twenty-seven men, fourteen young girls, and three children have gone missing.  Children. 

It’s almost sickening that he cares about that distinction.  But it’s the antithesis of what he knows and loves about Akira.

And now his time is preoccupied with wallowing.  Allowing his light to dim in the face of his new punishment which he must deserve for being faithless, yet again.

* * *

 

 

“Nine hundred and ninety-nine!”  Akira is strapped upside-down into some overcomplicated exercise device in their bedroom.  He doesn’t break a sweat as he finishes his last crunch and swings down from the ridiculous thing.  “Man!  That was invigorating!  But I still have so much damn energy, god!  It’s like there are bugs crawling under my skin!” He takes pleasure in parading around naked in the bedroom and idly strokes his cock.  It’s a wonder, thinks Ryo, that the thing isn’t chafed.

“Stop shouting,” says Ryo from the bed.  He hasn’t left the apartment for almost two days.  He’s been wearing either white silk pajamas or satin ones, whichever is in rotation.  They have an old maid named Tanaka that picks up after Akira, cooks, and cleans while Ryo lays around the house.  She makes sure those pajamas are clean and fresh when he comes out of the bath.  And now, Ryo’s in his second favorite pair.  He had planned to work on his new online lecture series.  Teaching is the only thing keeping him sane at this point, but he’s hasn’t addressed his new students since Akira tramped into the room.

Akira could be out with his friends.  It is a Saturday, after all.  And he’s been taking his little groupies out to bars and clubs and spending Ryo’s money while doing… whatever he pleases.  Fucking, killing.  Ryo tries not to read too much into the stains in Akira’s clothes.  He tips their maid well and she pretends to see nothing.  Akira groans, “We gotta do something!  I’m going stir crazy!  When’s Ms. Tanaka getting back?  Maybe we could play with her!  Or maybe we could upgrade to someone,” he licks his lips and thinking thoughts Ryo wished wouldn’t enter his own head.   “…Someone younger and more flexible!  We could share someone new!  Man or woman or whatever you want!  What do you say!”

Ryo allows Akira to sleep there but only if he’s clean.  And quiet.  “I’m trying to get some work done.”  Which is a lie at this point.  He might put off updating his students for another day or two…  But he keeps his hand busy on the computer.  He checks up on his finances.  All the draining Akira’s doing isn’t really making a dent.  But it is annoying.  And Akira’s energy in the room is too distracting.

Akira bounces onto the bed, grinning like a madman.  He’s constantly trying to coax Ryo to open his legs or bend over, knowing he can’t force himself on Ryo.  “Let’s screw!”

“Fuck off, Fudo.”

Akira whines, “Let me fuck you, please!”

Ryo doesn’t even bother looking up from his laptop, “You know my rules.  If you want to annoy me while I’m relaxing, prepare to suffer the consequences.”  He’s only raised his hand against Akira once.  He’s terrified of ever having to do so again.  But Akira, being a complete degenerate, got off on the pain of having his arms blown apart.  It was one hell of a mess. Ryo had to give poor Ms. Tanaka a raise that week.

None of this bothers Akira.  He keeps pushing and pushing and _pushing_.  Akira sobs, “That’s not fair!  You’re punishing the both of us over nothing.”  He climbs up the bed and puts his head in Ryo’s lap.  “Look at me.  I’m still your Akira, really.  Nothing has to change.  I’m just stronger now.  I’m not the naïve brat I was before.  I know better.  You know what?   I remember Hell.  You chained me to that cross with Amon.  I was with you the whole time, but you didn’t see me.  You didn’t allow yourself to have me.”  He reaches up, grabbing Ryo by the back of the head and scratching behind his ears.  “But I still love you.  And look at me now.  I’m better.  I know everything…”

Ryo sighs, “If knowledge was a sin, I would know.  And it’s not.  You disgust me now because you’re not as strong as I thought you were.  You let Amon walk all over you.”

“That’s not true!” 

“It is.  When was the last time you went to class?”  Ryo tries to control his face, thinking it’s not right.  The one thing he was really proud of Akira for doing is going down the drain.  “Look at you.  You’re useless now.  You’re just a puppet for Amon when you had so much more potential.  You could have been an engineer.  You could have been anything…”

Akira pushes the computer away, “I’m the one in control, and Amon is just along for the ride.  Really.”  His hand slides down and he pointedly grabs Ryo’s right breast.  “Damn I can’t get over it!  Were you hiding this before?”

Ryo smacks his hand away, “No.  I was more… male- _ish_ … then.  This is closer to my true form, and I happen to prefer it.  It’s not built to please you, asshole.”

Akira turns his face and obscenely breathes in, shaking his face in Ryo’s lap.  Ryo punches him in the head and Akira rolls over, laughing.  “What?  If you really hated me now, you wouldn’t be here.  Admit it.”  He smiles and sits up, kissing Ryo on the nose like they’re a normal couple fighting over something little like insurance payments or washing the damn dishes.  Not the taint on his immortal soul.

Ryo shoves him off and tries to get out of the bed, only for Akira to pull him back down and pin him by sitting on his chest.  Ryo holds back, thinking it’s unnecessary to throw Akira out the damn window.  “Get off.”

“I’m tryin’!”

“You damn, horny idiot,” Ryo twists his arm free and pinches Akira’s nipple.  “I’m not playing with you.  Being cute and stupid isn’t going to cut it.”

Akira laughs, “Aha!  You do think I’m cute!  Well, would you rather I tried harder to be holy?  Or evil?”  His face settles on something more serious as he looks down at Ryo.  “Tell me, Ryo.  What do you want from me?  You have me right in front of you.  And I want to be yours.  Just tell me what to do.  And I’ll be anything you want me to be.”

Ryo holds back tears.  He simply won’t allow himself to be seen crying again.  “I want my friend back.  Not this façade.  You’re still just a copy.”

“I’m not a copy.”  He kisses Ryo on the chin, then the nose, then the lips.  “I remember everything about you.  I know you act like nothing bothers you, but that wrinkle right there.”  He pokes Ryo on the nose, “Means you want to act a like a normal person, but think you’re just too damn good for it.  You get sad and pissed off like anyone else.  And the only time you really, really smile… is for me.”  He kisses Ryo’s nose again.  “And that’s my most favorite thing in the whole wide world.”

“I don’t care what you think you remember.  You’re hurting people.  If you were real, you’d know that was an impossible thing for the boy I knew.”

Akira smirks, “If I were real… fuck do you hear yourself?  You practically engineered me.  You woke me with blood and a hard cock!”  He hands drift down to Ryo’s lap. “And you have no idea what I suffered to become this way.  I’m the man you knew, Ryo.  I’m changed.  I’m sorry it's not to your liking.  How do you think I felt when you betrayed me?”

The words hit Ryo harder than any blow could.  “This is different.  That was a long time ago…”

“Shut up!”  Akira snarls, “You think you can drag me up from that kind of hell after what you did and find me still some pristine, virginal little whelp!  Newsflash, baby!”  He wraps his hands around Ryo’s neck, “I’m all that’s left after that!”  He squeezes while coming close enough bump foreheads, “And you can take what you have now, or cast me aside.  I’m tired of waiting!”

“I’m sorry,” says Ryo plainly.  “I’m sorry about everything you suffered.  If anything, I hoped you escaped my punishment.  I didn’t realize your spirit was so entwined with Amon’s.”

“Of course, you didn’t.  You were preoccupied with your own punishment.”

“It's not like that.  I thought of you every minute, every second for billions of damn years.  I thought I’d lost you.”

“But I’m right here,” cries Akira.  “And just because I’m not what you wanted, you tried to change me.  Not once, but twice!  I’m right here, Ryo.  Please just see me.”  He sobs, collapsing with his head on Ryo’s shoulder.

Ryo pats him and combs his fingers in his hair.  “I really fucked up, didn’t I.”

“Yeah!”

“And I’m torturing you all over again.”

“This is worse than the chains! And you just don’t care!  It’s not fair, Ryo!”  He beats on Ryo’s chest before turning a hand to grope him through the silk top.

Ryo pulls Akira hand up and bites down hard on the palm.

“Ow!  Shit, man!  Was that really necessary!”

“Your preoccupation with my breasts is getting on my nerves.”

“But Ryo,” whines Akira.  He shifts to hump Ryo’s leg.  “It’s not fair that you’re so damn sexy and beautiful and perfect…”

“Stop it.”  Ryo could gag.  Akira’s hands fly everywhere, trying to undress him.  Ryo swats him half-heartedly.  He lets Akira open his top and turns his head while Akira humps his leg harder, “You’re going to make a mess again.”

“And you’re going to let me.”  He smiles.  “Because you want me too.”

“No,” says Ryo.  “I’m going to tolerate it.  Because you always pass out right after, and I have work to do.”  He bends his leg, giving Akira better leverage to work himself.  “It’s like having pet a dog… 

Akira stops and sits back on his heel.  “Don’t call me that.”

“Why not?  If you want to act like a bitch in heat…”

“Am not!  Stop it, Ryo!”

“Oh, for the love of…” he exerts some fraction of his power and flips Akira over.  “Here, I’m taking care of you, just this once.”  He slides a hand down Akira’s pecs and abdomen, lingering with his nails scratching just over the nest of curls at the end of his happy trail.  Ryo sighs, before swallowing Akira’s cock in one go.

“Oh my god!”  Akira grabs Ryo by the side of the head.  “Oh my god!”  He spreads his legs, his body shaking while he tries to direct Ryo. But it’s not that kind of party, thinks Ryo.  He takes his time and with every downstroke, every bump of his nose, every twist of the tongue, Akira calls out again, “OH MY GOD!”

Ryo comes up and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and looks Akira in the eye, “If you say that one more damn time, I’m biting it off!”

Akira grins down at him, “So what?  It’ll only grow back.”  He yanks hard on Ryo’s hair, “Who knows, you might like it!  Maybe you need a little blood to loosen you up a little.”

Ryo is not some easily shocked mortal but the words still disturb him.  He climbs off Akira, “This is exactly what I’m talking about.  You are completely disgusting.”

Akira writhes in his place before getting up with a growl, “It’s not fair!  You keep leaving me hanging like this and expect me to control myself!  Fuck, Ryo!  What’s wrong with you!?”  He rolls over like he was kicked and limps toward to the bathroom.  “I don’t need to stay here for this shit, I’m going out.  Don’t wait up for me!”  Ryo ignores him and he slams the door shut.

It’s not easy raising a nearly immortal, evil being, thinks Ryo.

Twenty minutes later, Akira comes out red-faced and angrily dresses up in a black outfit.  He lingers at the door, “I’m going out!”

“So, I heard.”

“Yeah, and I’m getting laid!”

“There’s money in the safe.  Try not spend it all in one place.”

Akira looks crestfallen, “Is that all you have to say to me?”

“I don’t care what you do.”

Akira sobs, “That’s not fair!”

“Nothing in life is fair.  I toiled and behaved myself all this time, for what,” he looks Akira up down feeling wrathful.  “For you?  You’re a shabby placeholder for the real thing.  You are tainted.  You’re completely foul.”

Akira starts crying in earnest, “That’s a fucked up thing to tell someone, Ryo!  You haven’t changed at all have you?”

Ryo pauses as he types and looks up, “Look at yourself.  Do you really think I could want something like you, Amon?”

Akira wipes his eyes, “Don’t call me that!”  He turns to the closet and grabs a handful of clothes and throws them on the bed.  “Get your ass up!”

“No.”

“I mean it, Ryo!  We’re going out and we’re having fun, or so help me…”

“The problem with you, _Amon_ is that you’ve got our situation confused.  You’re not my superior.  You’re not even my friend.  I’m just keeping an eye on you.  For the moment.  I’m already bored with this whole arrangement.”  He gets out of the bed and straightens the sheets.  “I’m going out.  But not with you.  I don’t care what you do.”

Akira growls and flips over his exercise equipment before stomping out the bedroom.

Ryo sighs and looks at the clothes on the bed.  All new things Akira been buying him, hoping to see him in some color.  He picks up the blue checkered shirt and smiles, “Thanks.  I hate it.”

* * *

 

With the moons high in the sky, Ryo finds himself in a white suit and sitting alone on a park bench.  He stares up the sky, replaying the last few months in his head.  In another time, he had little to no interest in sex.  With his memories intact, he thinks that’s still very true.  He only wants to be with Akira.  But perhaps sating himself with some willing creature will suffice.  Perhaps it’ll give him more options.  Maybe he can find someone new.  A new project worthy of his attention.  Not some damn crybaby devilman, hellbent on terrorizing the local population. 

He makes up his mind to go looking for a quick fuck.  And his feet take him to an underground bar and club.  The door thumping with music and noise from the party inside and revelers coming and going, half-dressed and reeking of alcohol.  Ryo walks in like he owns the place and snatches up a bottle from a nearby server before turning it up and swallowing it. 

“Damn!  I can’t believe how fine you are!”  says an old, graying man from nearby.  His thoughts are on taking Ryo to the bathroom to make use of the couch and a broken condom dispenser.  He’s already had two ‘twinks’ tonight, and he’s high as a kite and ready for a third.

Ryo sighs, “Too fine for you.  Get lost, old man.”

The man yanks him by the hand, “Hang on there, baby doll.  I’m not taking no for an answer.  Come on, and I’ll pay for all your drinks tonight.  Anyone ever tell you how pretty your little mouth is…”

Ryo starts to tell the man off, but he gets the feeling of eyes on him.  And he turns to see Akira standing by the door.  Leaning with his arms crossed and a heavy-eyed look.  Ryo wonders how he missed being followed and actually smiles.  “You’re full of surprises aren’t you.”  The old man thinks he can pull Ryo away.  Ryo points his hand like a finger gun at the man’s chest.  “I told you.  I’m not for you.” 

The man laughs at the gesture and raises his hands, “Don’t shoot me, kid!”

Ryo winks, “Bang!”

The man seizes, collapses with his hands over his chest.  Ryo dispelled enough energy to stop his heart.  With the noise and the crowd of single-minded, horny young people, no one notices.  He rolls over and dies while people dance a few feet away from him.

Ryo rolls his eyes and walks over to Akira.  “I thought you were going to the red-light district?”

“I thought you were suddenly against killing humans.”

Ryo looks back at the man then takes another drink of his champagne.  “That?  That was barely human.  And I’ve no feelings about it either way.  I’m not human.  My problem is you, losing what humanity you had left.  Just look at you.”  Ryo takes a nice long look at Akira in his tight-fitting black suit.  “You’re a damn monster.”

“I thought I caught your scent… and I followed you all the way through that park and down here.  What are you out looking for tonight, Ryo?”

Ryo opts not answer, taking another swig of his drink.  Once the bottle is empty he smashes it on the floor and makes for the exit, “Nothing here.  I’m going home.”

Akira grabs him by the elbow and pulls him into a dark corner.  “Hey isn’t this familiar?”  He turns Ryo around and presses his whole body against him, chin on Ryo's shoulder while they look at the club.  “It’s just like that night at the Sabbath.  You and me raising some hell…”

“As I remember you blushed the whole time.  Or screamed.” 

“Yeah,” Akira wraps his arms around Ryo’s middle, “It was terrifying.  Seeing demons for the first time.  Feeling a presence that I couldn’t shake climbing up my back and taking over.  But none of that was as bad as the sight of you pinned down by that thing.  I let Amon in that night.  I let him change my body and taint my soul, so I could save you.”  He presses a soft kiss to the back of Ryo’s neck.  “Because in another time, you were my dearest friend.  My first and only love.”

Ryo looks out at the crowd while feeling warm.  His body swaying, his heart thumping with the frantic music.  Surely some lame words aren’t bothering him after all he’s been through.  But he remembers that night and staring up as Akira changed and tore everyone apart.  Everyone and everything.  He lied easily to Akira about saving people.  When all he did was save Ryo.  “You have his memories,” says Ryo.  “That’s all.  I wanted more from you.  I wanted _him_ back.”

“Unchanged, after all those eons?  We’re more alike than ever before, my friend.  You want me to pretend for you, I will.  But I shouldn’t have to,” he sighs against the back of Ryo’s neck.  Another little kiss while his hands roam.  Right palm moving up to cup Ryo’s chest and the left tugging his shirt out of his pants.  “You should see me just as I am.  Just as you made me.”

Ryo’s eyes water but he wipes his face before tears can fall.  “I think I’m being punished… do you understand?  For a moment there I could hear them.  I could hear Him.  But I’ve strayed again.  I’ve failed Him.  I failed you.  I don’t deserve…”

“Fuck them!” 

Ryo feels a shock as Akira bites his neck.  “Ah!” 

Akira’s hand on his waist slips into his trousers and wraps around Ryo’s cock.  Right there, in the darkness but where anyone could see them.  Akira bites down harder while his hand strokes Ryo until he’s hard and uncomfortable with being confined.  With shaking hands, Ryo unzips his pants and leans back into Akira’s hold.  He thinks of all those sweet moments of old friendship.  Getting to know the young reincarnation and the nights he touched himself to sate these feelings.  He moans with the sudden release that jolts his body.  And Akira has the nerve to laugh in his ear.  “See?  That took less than a minute.  Let go, Ryo.”  He kisses Ryo under the chin, “Let me have you.”

Ryo turns his head, kissing Akira back in answer.  He doesn’t think about the crowd of mindless, drunken dancers or the come on his pants and shirt.  He lets himself sink into the feeling of having something he’s wanted for over seven billion years.  Akira’s leads him over to a table covered in cigarettes and half-empty glasses, just a few steps into the light and under one of the clubs stereos.  He turns Ryo around and pushes his suit jacket down his shoulders.  Ryo lets it happen but frowns, “What are you doing?” 

Akira grins and rips open Ryo white shirt, “You know me.  I want to see you.  Right here, right now.”  He pushes Ryo until he’s laid out on the table. 

Ryo sees the tell-tale flash of someone’s camera phone going off and with the flick of his finger, destroys the offending tech.  “People are watching.”

“So?”  Akira pulls Ryo's pants down his thighs and folds his legs up, “Let them watch.  I’ve got something not one of them will ever get to touch.  Something divine.”  He bends down and sucks on Ryo’s neck, he moans, “See, Angel?  I don’t mind sharing the sight.  But look at us.  We’re both miles and miles out of their league.  Right?”

Ryo lays there passively his body exposed and Akira making quick work of undoing his own trousers.  Ryo can’t see the cock at his entrance but he feels it slipping in with little more than Akira’s precum.  He keeps his knees up while Akira holds his shins.  The first glide in is rough and tacky.  But Ryo sighs with the fullness.   Feeling complete and whole for the first time in a long, long while.  His breathe hitches but he keeps his eyes on Akira above him, the song thumping in his chest seems familiar.  “…okay.  Yes.”  He gives Akira a little nod and the man doesn’t waste any time on waiting to stretch him like he should for a mortal body.  They’re simply together, moving and writhing as one while multi-colored lights paint their faces and the loud bass thumps along with their rhythm.

Ryo is hard again and tugging himself while Akira seeks release desperately, thrusting into Ryo from root to tip, over and over again.  Ryo moans while his toes curl and he comes a second time, staining the remains of his shirt, his belly, up to his chest.  He holds onto the table under him while Akira grinds down harder, rocking into Ryo's channel while he finally comes.  Every pulse seems to go on forever and ever.  But Akira finally sighs when it’s over and lets Ryo’s legs down, settles into a chair and pulls Ryo down into his lap.

They sit there, disheveled and filthy while the club gets more and more energized.  Ryo smiles at it, “You’re right.  It’s just like the Sabbath.  They could all be demons with the merest push.”

Akira rocks Ryo in his arms while kissing his neck, “I missed you.  I missed you so much.”

Ryo pets him on the head until he moves down suckle marks on his neck and chest.  While Akira busy worshipping his body, Ryo keeps an eye on the crowd.  He finally turns away and smiles with his face buried in Akira’s hair.  “I see now.”  He pulls Akira’s head up and kisses him on the mouth.  “All this for a few hundred spawns?  Have you been doing this every night.”

Akira nods and tries to move on to kiss his breast, but Ryo pulls his hair.  “Ow, yes.  But so, what?  They’re barely human, like you said.”

“True,” says Ryo.  “But someone must have put you up to this.  Amon wouldn’t be making demons.  He’d sooner devour them all.  Who are you working with?”

Akira frowns, “I’m not working with anyone.”  He looks innocent despite sitting there with a cock half hard and an armful of his half-naked friend.  “It just happens sometimes, I accept it.  It’s the way the world is.  The demons take the weak and weak are everywhere.”

Ryo pulls away and looks out into the crowd that's changing into beasts and monsters.  Finally, he thinks.  He may have a new purpose before the night is over.  He shrugs out his shirt and steps into the light calling out to the demons, “Who freed you from your prison?” 

“Ryo!  What are you doing?”

“I said,” continues Ryo.  He breaks a bottle and steps further into the masses of moving bodies, “Who freed you from your prison, wretched creatures!”

“Traitor,” says a woman baring fangs as her body takes on a grotesque shape.  “Traitor!  You forsake us!”

Akira runs up to try and shield Ryo from the first attack.  But Ryo calmly raises a hand and with a single blast of energy eradicates everything in the room.

Akira stands there looking dumbfounded.  “What are they talking about?”

Ryo looks down at him and with a flick of his finger repairs his suit and cleans up.  He heads for the exit with Akira running behind him. 

“Ryo wait,” he pauses to fumble doing up his pants with the door open and they walk out into the street.  “Wait up!  What the hell is going on?”

“I figured it out,” says Ryo.  “You’re the distraction.  You’re the bait.  But they haven’t considered the fact that I don’t need to choose between having you and casting them back out.”  He looks up at the moons and smiles, “I know what to do now.  And I’m keeping you, just as you are.”  He looks at Akira hopeful smile and rolls his eyes, “And on Monday you’re going back to class.  You’re going graduate if I have to chain you to your desk chair.”

Akira whimpers following him home, “You jerk!  How could you say it like that!  You haven’t changed at all!”  He cries while they take a long way home, ignoring the eyes on them from the shadows.

 


	6. nothing out of selfish ambition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it was long, long wait, but I'm drowning in too many fandoms and a new business venture. Pray for me Y'all. But not in a blasphemous heathen-y way.

The early morning brings revelation.  Akira sleeps easily, tucked behind Ryo in their massive bed.  But Ryo keeps his eyes opens, staring out the balcony door as the moons dance around each other.  Two beautiful celestial objects in the sky, one half-full while the other wanes.  One rising higher while the other twists with the oddity of its elliptical orbit.  In this lifetime they call the moons sisters.  Luna and Serena.  Luna is the remnant of the old moon white and scarred from time.  Serena is the new little sister, her strange orbit protecting her from pockmark craters.  She has a thin hazy red atmosphere of iron dust and very pure oxygen.  The science age has yet to take advantage of the little world.  In fact, on this strange new Earth, some people revere the little moon.  They call her the Heart of the Sky.  Others have an innate distrust of her, and on the nights where she’s full and leading the sky, those souls cower in their homes to avoid her light.

But Ryo adores the little orb.  Just before he was reborn, he spent months sleeping on the little moon, breathing in the purest remains from their old life, untouched by the Host’s recreation of the world. 

Ryo moves Akira’s hand and sheds his mortal skin, meaning to take flight.  Sometimes the quiet of that strange little orb is enough to settle his nerves.  But he’s pulled back.

He finds Akira staring at him with one squinting eye, “Don’t go.  Please.  Not so soon after finding you.  Please.”  He tugs until Ryo turns around, and shields his eyes with his other hand.

Ryo smiles, “Too bright?”

“Fuck yes.”

Ryo laughs and covers up in his human skin, settles back down in the bed and watches the moons closely.  He’ll answer the pull to them later.  But for now, he rather have this.

 

* * *

 

 

Ryo wakes sometime in the day to the smell of food.

Akira sits cross-legged on the edge of the bed watching tv and stuffing his face with sausages and bacon and eggs.  He’s dressed in some name-brand tracksuit with his hair wrapped up in a towel.  He turns to Ryo and grins, “Ms. Tanaka made me breakfast!”

Ryo nods and resists rolling his eyes, “Yes.  She’s paid to do that.”  He sits up and stretches.  Things feel normal again.  There's not quite a darkness hanging over them.  For once, there’s no smell of blood or strange sex on Akira.  He's clean and there’s no evidence of murder laid about the room.  It all stirs a new feeling in Ryo.  The mortals call it hope.  Ryo gets up and walks to the balcony, looking up at where he knows the moons will be tonight.  “Let’s go out again.”

“Yes!”  Akira gets up, dropping his plate and making a mess on the carpet like a child. “Finally!  We can have some fun together!  I know this place…”

“Stop, you imbecile.  I’m not talking about clubbing."  He almost regrets his words as soon as a look of sadness crosses Akira's face.  But he stands firm, "And I’m not going to lie to you like last time.  In our last life, I was sympathetic to the demons.  I thought it wasn’t fair of Father to order their extermination.  But I see better now.  This is the world he wanted.  Humans are his chosen children.  Not even the Heavenly Host has the will and privilege that was granted to them.  And I tried to undermine that and recreate the world for their pleasure.  For my own ambition and out of petty jealousy.”

Akira frowns, “That’s kind of heavy talk for breakfast, man.  You sure don’t just want some pancakes or something?”

Ryo sighs, “Try to keep up, Fudo.”  He moves to the closet and slips on a long robe.  Akira whimpers as he covers up and that makes him smile.  But Ryo can’t let what’s between them distract him.  “I’m telling you, I know what I need to do now.  And this time you’re going to help me do it.  You’re going to stay by my side.  And I’m not letting anyone, or anything hurt you.  You're not a pawn to me.  And I'll protect you with everything I am.”

Akira eyes tear up, “That’s kind of beautiful.  You really do love me back, huh?”  He walks toward Ryo, his eyes soft and with a sweet smile.  "What do you want to do?  I'm all ears.  Come here..."

Ryo holds out a hand to stop him before he gets covered in greasy bacon kisses.  “We’re going out tonight to hunt.  Are you with me?”

Akira nods, “Absolutely!  I’ve been so bored!”

“But first,” says Ryo walking out of the room, knowing Akira will follow him.  The hallway to their bedroom is dark, but he spots Tanaka scurrying ahead of them to the staircase.  He follows her down and waits for Akira to catch up.

“What?  You are hungry after all?”  Akira rushes forward to torment the old woman, “Yo!  You hear that?”

Tanaka stands there shaking with her old grey head bowed, “I can make Sir some oatmeal?  I know you prefer to eat light.”

Akira makes a twisted face, “Oatmeal?”

“That will be fine,” says Ryo.  He gestures for Akira to follow him outside to the pool.  “Come here.”  He steps into the water, “Stand in the water.”  He holds out his hand letting the robe float around his naked body. 

Akira pauses to take off his tracksuit and wades in, looking unsure.  “What are you doing?”  Then he focuses on the water splashing on Ryo’s chest, “Yes!  Please tell me we’re going to fuck out here?”  He gasps, “Wait, you kinky bastard.  Is that old maid going to watch us?”

Ryo rolls his eyes and cuffs Akira on the side of the head.  “Stop it.  I need your full attention.  This is serious.”

Akira rubs his head with a pout, “…Sorry.  I’m listening. Really.”

“Good.  Now, as the son of missionaries, you should know about baptism.  In this life, weren't you prayed for and promised to God?”

Akira nods, “Yeah I guess.  As a baby, why?”

“Then we have to reinforce that.  Amon’s hold on you is so strong because you are spiritually weak.  And if you consent to it, knowing what I truly am, I will offer you my light.  The brightest light of my Father.”

Akira looks a little dazzled, “I take it, this isn’t a sex thing?”

Ryo doesn’t entertain answering any more stupid questions and gets to work.  He holds out his hands and sings with his real voice.  No mortal or demon can hear it, not really.  _“I will give myself to him, Father.  I will commit myself to him.  Do you see me?  I will save him.  Will you help me, Father?  Let him partake of our divinity and if he is worthy, he will be saved.  Save him, Father.  Allow me to save him.  Please.  Forgive me for all my trespasses.  I see clearly now.  Forgive us both and give him Grace.”_

Akira stands there in the water looking more and more confused.  He starts to say something, but Ryo can’t hear it.  His head is soon filled with ringing and movement.  The spheres must be dancing in the distance.  Perhaps this is the right choice.  Perhaps he’s finally done something right.  He sheds a tear before taking Akira by the hand.  Akira looks down at their fingers curiously at first, but then the shadow of Amon crosses his eyes.  He bares his teeth and slaps the hand away, “What kind of trick is this!?  You’re trying to purify me!”

Ryo takes his hand again, he hates that Akira turns away, but it must be done.  He reveals his true form and keeps sight of them hidden from anyone who would pry.  “Please.  Look at me.  Look at the light.  Choose to be saved.  Choose your own heart.”

Amon snarls, “Fuck off!  I won’t let you!  I’d sooner destroy this weakling before being chained again!”

Satan stops Amon with a thought and holds him in place while reaching out and puts a palm to Akira’s forehead.  “Can you hear me in there?”

The body blinks and a small inner voice cries out, “ _I hear you!  Ryo?  God, you’re beautiful Ryo!”_

Satan smiles at that, but continues, “You have to choose for yourself.  I can baptize you in this light and water, purify Amon’s presence altogether.  You won’t be Devilman anymore.  Do you want that?”

Akira answers with his own voice.  “No.  I want to stay with you, Ryo.  And I can’t do that if I’m weak.  I’m stronger with him.  Please don’t do this.”

Satan pulls his hand away, “Do you mean that?”

“I don’t care about saving my soul.  I care about you!  And I’m not letting you go again.  I have to protect you.”

Satan tilts his head, “Protect me from what?”  He hadn’t expected such an answer.  He is unrivaled in this world and every plane of its existence.  The demons are no match for him.  “Who set you free from the cross eighteen years ago?  Who’s pulling Amon’s strings this time around?  Tell me the truth, Akira.”  He forces a sliver of light into the shell around Akira’s soul, “Tell me and I’ll withdraw.  I’ll leave you as you are.”

Amon pants, scrabbling for control and Satan can see him trying to swallow Akira in his darkness.  But that little sliver of light is enough to guide Akira to the surface.  It’s enough to tell Ryo exactly what he needed to know.

 

* * *

Two weeks later, Ryo stands on the side while Amon destroys a nest of demons.  He comes back like an obedient pet and nuzzles his bloody face into Ryo’s hand.  Ryo wipes away splatter with the cuff of his jacket, “You saw that, Akira?  The two of you saved those stupid teenagers from being preyed upon.  I’m very proud of you.”

Akira changes back and shakes his whole body like a wet dog, leaving Ryo covered in ichor.  He grins, “Proud enough to let me…”

“No,” says Ryo quickly.  “The deal is you’ve got a quota to meet.”

“But Ryo!”

“No.  That’s only a few dozen for tonight.  And the deal is one hundred.”  He turns on his heel and leads Akira out of the dark warehouse, “And I sense more is going on in this district.  We have a lot to catch up on if what you said was true.”

“It was!  Honestly, we had no reason to lie.”

Ryo rolls his eyes, “You both had plenty of reason.  But this could be a simple matter if we root out the instigator.  Jenny’s dead.  I dispatched her myself.  But there are a few stronger forces that could still be in play.”  He pauses long enough to get a good look at Akira, and a shock of sudden arousal almost scares Ryo.  He coughs into his hand and pretends to be unaffected, “I’ll agree to let you have…. a short recess.”

Akira whoops and yells.  He jumps and skips while running ahead of Ryo to his car.  He grabs his spare clothes in the backseat and dresses quickly, “Come on!  I don’t want to waste this energy!  Fuck we can screw right here.  No one’s around.

Ryo tries not to show how pleased he is to have Akira and Amon on a short leash again.  “Control yourself and get in the damn car.”  He takes his time to the car and very deliberately reminds Akira that he has an exam in his drafting class coming up.

The car slows down, and Akira pouts, “I guess you’re saying I could study or I can fuck you tonight, but I can’t have both.”

“Right.”

“And if I fail this semester…”

“No more recesses at all.”

“COME ON!”  Akira drives faster, his knuckles turning white on the steering wheel, “That’s not fair!  You want me to work, work, work!  Do this, do that.  Kill this thing, balance the equations, stop buying stuff, be nice to Tanaka!  Where does it _end_!”

Ryo hides his smile and looks out the window as the harbor rolls by and his favorite moon runs to catch up with her sister.  He clears his throat, “Discipline is good for you.  How else will you keep yourself balanced?  Or do you want to be swimming in darkness again?”

A shadow goes over Akira's face and Ryo knows he is thinking of the moments right after the baptism.  The moment he realized he was a part of the murders and attacks, just sitting along while Amon sated himself.  Akira shakes the look off and drums his fingers, “It won’t get that bad again, I promise.  I’m good now.”

Ryo doubts that very much.  From what he saw, Amon had so much time to work on his soul, there really is little difference between them now.  But his memories have infected Amon as well.  And the demon doesn’t want to part from either of them.

Hence the agreed upon reward.

Ryo doesn’t bother hiding his smile this time and Akira drives all the faster.

 

* * *

 

 

Shoes are lost at the doorway and clothes are thrown in every direction.  They make it as far as the living room before Akira growls and lifts Ryo by the waist.  Ryo wraps his legs around his friend while kissing and biting his lips.  They pant and gasp and struggle against each other until Akira backs into the couch.  He sits down with his legs spread and lifts Ryo up, “Come on, come on!”

Ryo shakes his head, “You’re in a hurry to miss the main show?  I guess you’re still not ready.”

Akira’s eyes widen, “No, no, please!  Do it!  I’m ready!  And I’ll be good, I promise!”

Ryo combs his fingers through Akira’s hair and holds it back while kissing him harder.  He ends it with a sharp bite to the bottom lip and stands up.  He feels breathless but that won’t last long.  He changes to his real form and looks down as Akira finally sees him without narrowing his eyes.  Two weeks of this and Akira always gave in, too blind to really enjoy the fruit of his labor.  But now he stares wide-eyed, and rightly so, thinks Ryo.  Its vanity perhaps, but he was the most beloved and beautiful light of Father’s creation.  It’s his right to be worshipped.

“I’m never ever going to get used that.  You’re so beautiful Ryo.”

Ryo smiles, “Not too bright?”

Akira shakes his head, “Absolutely gorgeous.  Oh, please come here.  Let me see you…”

Ryo does as he asks and stands there, allowing the inspection.  He fully expects to be groped and he is.  Akira fondles his breasts, kissing and sucking them while his hands squeeze Ryo’s thighs and slide over the flat belly.  Akira hums and kisses a trail down Ryo’s sternum.  Ryo fists his hands in Akira’s hair.  “Looking for something?”

He sits up and bites his lip, “You said you were everything…”  He grins while kissing a little further down.  “And I thought maybe.”

Ryo sighs, “Well I could be what you’re looking for… if you asked nicely.”

“Yes.  Please.”  He rests his chin just over Ryo’s naval and surprises him with a raspberry blow to his belly.  Akira grins up, switching gears from playful to serious.  Then gives his lips a slow, deliberate lick.  “I’ll be good.  I promise.”

“I hardly believe that.  But I’ll indulge you.  See for yourself.”

Akira stares while all twelve wings stretch out.  He slides down to his knees while Ryo crosses his arms and parts his legs.  Like this, in his true form but with Ryo Asuka’s heart beating in his chest.  He’s not Satan.  He’s the young man that hid for all those years.  Akira seems distracted by the feathers, but he turns back to his reward and boldly bends to lick the crease apparent under Ryo’s erect cock.  He hums and rests shaking hands on Ryo’s thighs.  “You’re wet?”

“I can be anything you want me to be.”  Ryo keeps his arms crossed, taking in the sensitive feeling of being really touched in true form.  A part of him rarely thinks of the wet heat he possesses, but it’s in full focus now, spread open, rubbed with calloused fingertips and sucked on at turns.  It’s enough to make his knees shake.  It's hard for even him to maintain a perfect, impartial visage.  He starts to give Akira instruction, but the man is focused.  Akira's eyes are closed while he licks between the folds of skin and finds the hood and a nub that's even more sensitive than Ryo’s penis.  Ryo gasps, “...what?”

“Ah-ha!”  Akira pulls away and sits back on his heels, smiling.  “You’ve never done this before?”

Ryo wants to slap the superior tone out of Akira’s mouth, “Fuck you.  I’ve no carnal needs to sate when I'm like this.  This is for you.”

“No needs?”  Akira grins and rubbing his thumb over Ryo’s clit, his hand spread wide enough for his fingertips to brush Ryo’s cock.  “You’re small this way.  I want to see it, Angel.  Show me.  Come for me.”  He rubs harder at first, then pulls away altogether.  “Down.”

Ryo wants to correct him; hearing Amon’s voice darkens the room.  But he is curious.  There’s very little left in existence that surprises him.  And this reaction… this is something he didn’t know, not in this body.  And the thought of finally having it…. No wonder Amon is confident enough to show himself. He shifts appearance and Ryo feels the pronounced wetness in the folds and aching of his straining cock.  He steps over Akira and around the sofa.  He bends down, hands on the sofa's arm while his wings spread out.  Akira doesn't hesitate to follow him up.  And Ryo did not expect to the feel the walls of his vaginal opening jump when a hard finger slide in and out, then up further to push into his asshole.  Twisting before Amon’s big hand grab him by the hips.

Amon is not gentle with him.  He mounts Ryo from behind like an animal, entering with bulbous head of his cock, taking no pause as he slides into the hilt.  There's no time to adjust as ruts, in and out, hands clawing at Ryo's body. Perhaps Ryo needn’t breathe like a human, but the motion knocks the air out of him and shocks him.  He’s not made to feel pain in this form, and very rarely feels _anything_ at all.  But Ryo feels _this_.  Amon pushing in roughly until their body’s slap, the noise echoing in the room with their panting.  The unused channel suddenly seizes, and Ryo comes for the first time in his real form.  Walls of this female channel fluttering around the cock.  He doubles over the arm of the sofa but Amon is not done.

He gathers Ryo in his arms and holds him up, groping his breast with one hand while the other reaches down to his still hard cock.  Ryo is surprised to see such a thing, and Amon strokes him while grunting in Ryo’s ear.  “…. Mine.  No one else… mine!”  He bites down on Ryo’s shoulder, the wings between their bodies flutter and Ryo can’t control their trembling. 

Ryo comes in thin sticky robes over Amon’s hands and his human heart is full of thoughts and memories.  Tears run down his face.  “Akira?  Please.  Please, say something.”  He wants some proof that he let things go this far for the man he loves.  That only one creature can inspire such a base feeling in him when he knows a monster's cock is buried inside him.

“I’ve got you,” says Akira sweetly in his ear.  “I’ve got you.  I haven’t…”  He slows down and turns Ryo’s chin to look in his eyes.  “Did I hurt you.”

Ryo sobs and can’t help the smile on his face, “No, you idiot.  You can’t hurt me.  Do your worst.”

Akira frowns, “That’s not funny, you kinky bastard.”  He pulls out and backs away.  “Are you ready, though?"  It sounds like a threat, Akria growling while his cock, still hard and heavy looking hangs between them.  It's dark purple and the hair and curving up nearly a foot long and Ryo has an almost desperate to put the damn thing in his mouth.  Akira grabs him by the chin again to get his attention, "Are you sure?  Because I can go much farther than this.  Much, much farther.”

Ryo’s body tingles, perhaps this is his physical form affecting the pure light of his essence for the first time ever.  He looks out the glass doors and up at the sky.  Luna and Serena chasing each other.  And it gives him an idea.  He doesn’t give Akira any warning before taking off, smiling and laughing with a clear ringing sound that must make his Brother’s jealous, for all the noise they make in the spheres. 

Ryo lets Akira catch up, high up near the top of Mount Fuji.  They wrestle until Akira relents.  His body on all fours while Ryo climbs over his back.  With every push inside the tightness of Akira’s body, his cock grows longer and thicker until it’s his dominant sex again.  He fucks into Akira without grace, hands pinching the rough skin of Amon and pulling hair while he spills white light, the guarded and precious creation, right there while a chorus of voices raise in alarm.  Ryo ignores them, thinking, “ _Quiet Brothers!  This is mine!  This is my glory!  And I’ve earned second of it!_ ”  He doesn’t think twice before flipping Akira to his back and climbing onto his lap.  Lowering himself and stroking his cock back to full hardness. 

Akira claws into Ryo’s thighs before grabbing his the joints of his lower wings.  He holds them, Ryo thinks of the ridiculous fitness equipment in their room.  His bodied lifted and lowered faster and faster while Akira chases orgasm.  Ryo throws his head back, crying out with his true voice.  Akira laughs under him, “That’s right, Angel.  Again and again and again.”  He lets go, only to work a finger into Ryo’s hole while his cock is still moving in the vaginal channel.  “This way and that.  Every way, right?  I’m going to have all of you.  All night long.”  He sits and up and licks Ryo’s breast, settling for steady rhythm of sucking the tit, thrusting his cock, and twisting his fingers.

Ryo loses count of how many times he comes that night.

But he remembers clearly that Akira held out, hard until the sun came.  Hard while they fucked and fucked and fucked.  Until both moons finally set and Ryo settled in his human body, bruised and stretched and aching. 

Hours later, Akira was still hard but he came finally when Ryo placed a gentle kiss on the slit of his cock.  The mess of spilled seed was enough to swim in, but the reaction was deeply satisfying to Ryo for some reason.

* * *

 

Akira fails his test.

And Ryo takes pity on him.  Sucking him down in the car after only a few crybaby tears.

Akira redoubles his efforts bringing books with him on their hunts and reading in any spare second available. 

Ryo can’t help be proud of the thing he’s created.  The truth is Akira is baptized in his own light.  And their union is better than he hoped for, better than he imagined.  Better than anything god-given.

Days after that first night, Ryo sits in Akira’s lap and ignores the songs of his brothers.  He knows what to do now, of course.  He has what he wanted.  Akira gives him a quick nip before turning the page in his book and Ryo smiles.   Revelation is the book of the apocalypse.  And this world is close to its end.  But they’re together, now.   They will survive it and nothing will ever be the same.

 


	7. to work the ground from which he was taken

The rabbit is not on the moon.  It’s been dead since this system was rebirthed.  The mark the ancients used to stare at and call rabbit is long gone, but the misty little satellite now has a thin ring of icy rock dancing around her middle.  Ryo wonders what his old Akira would have said before if they had such sight growing up.

Ryo strains to hear and make any real meaning of the ringing in his ears.  _“What do you want me from me, Brothers?”_ They ring and ring and **_ring_**.  Ryo grinds his teeth, but he listens carefully.  Hoping for some validation.  He’s mated now.  He’s beyond what they were conceived to be.  He’s taken for himself that sweet will his Father granted to lesser beings.  He has taken  _love_.  And he just wants…oh but he doesn’t know what he wants from them.  But he listens.

**_“Mercy, brother.  Be patient brother.”_ **

Ryo shuts himself off from the sound.  _That_ is not the answer he wanted.  But Ryo is not alone anymore.  There’s one creature that does not despise him and perhaps that was it.  All he ever wanted.   It is all he needs.  And he will show them all.  Even Father.  _Especially_ Father.

He walks a large shopping area on his own and feels the minds of the little humans as they move about on their pointless lives.  Above him, the mall’s glass ceiling lets in the night sky.  It’s all black, the stars faded and blocked from the bright lights.  But the moon is high in the sky.  Up ahead of him Akira is catching up with his university friends.  Ryo watches him for any sign of reversion.  But then Akira is punched on the shoulder by a small girl.  Even with the all the ancient power of Amon thrumming under his skin, Akira wails.  Cries and cries while his little friends laugh at him.

Ryo smiles and turns away, “Still such a crybaby.”

 

* * *

 

The days after their first proper mating are so normal and blissful, it’s like being on a human honeymoon.

Akira rests his head on Ryo’s shoulder.  He hums a little made-up song and nuzzles under Ryo’s chin.

It’s a good way to wake up.  Almost two weeks after seeing Ryo’s true form and they’re at this point, slow early morning fucks before going about their respective days.  This morning they didn’t share a shower or fuck in the bed, but Akira sat in Ryo’s lap while he was trying to get ready at the vanity.

Ryo wills his cock to soften and stay that way.  It’s hard not to gather Akira up and throw him on the bed, but the afterglow moment is quiet and gentle, it doesn’t beg for any action from either of them.  Akira nibbles on his ear and Ryo can’t help smirking at his reflection in the mirror.  He may never have thought such a moment would be possible between them.  But here it is.  He has a handful of sated Akira Fudo an hour before work.  Ryo sighs, feeling satisfied and happy.

Akira purrs in his lap, squirming in the sticky come that’s on Ryo’s thighs.  He drags fingers down Ryo’s chest where his own mess left streaks and bites his lip.  “You liked doing it with the mirror, huh?  Kinky bastard.  I’m going to do that again.”  He grins and bends to bite Ryo’s earlobe.

“Okay,” says Ryo flatly.  “I suppose I can write you a school excuse or something.  Sorry Professor, he was stuck on my cock this morning.”

Akira laughs, “I wish!”

Ryo tries to repress a smile, but because he is Satan, he can’t help himself.  He grins, “Of course, then you won’t be able to turn in that book report.”

Akira sits straight up with a jolt.  “You ass!”  He climbs off Ryo and rushes to the closet, drags out clean clothes and dresses quickly in a plain white t-shirt and tight black jeans with no underwear.  “You fucking tit!”

Ryo shrugs, “You spent all that time this week working on it.  I just thought you’d be more satisfied turning it in on time.”

“You’re evil, you know that!”  Akira throws a sneaker at Ryo’s head and then hops on one foot to recover the shoe. He ends up sitting awkwardly on the vanity to put it on.  “You knew what you were doing!”

“Did I?  I was just sitting here combing my hair.  You’re the one who jumped on my dick.”

Akira’s eye twitches, “Fuck you, Asuka!  You weren’t just sitting there!  Looking like that!”  He gestures to Ryo’s opened robe, “And being all… all sexy and shit!  It’s not fair!”

“That word again.”  An alarm goes off on Akira’s phone and Ryo laughs, “Better hurry.  You’ll miss the bell.  If it were me, I’d deduct points for being late.”

“I hate you!”  Akira shoves his foot in the shoe but fails to get in all the way and ends up with his heel sticking out.  Ryo chuckles at the sight of him limping to the bedroom door and shaking a leg to unstick his pants from his ass.  “I’m getting you back for this when I come home!  I mean it!  You better pick me up on time and everything!  You jerk!”

He slams the door and Ryo laughs softly to himself before turning back to the mirror.  The sight of himself makes a smile stretch big on his face, a warm feeling blooms in his chest.  No breasts, no long hair.  He’s the shape of the man who first fell in love with Akira Fudo.  He’s planning a long day of human interaction, and it’ll be easier on everyone concerned if there are no questions about his sex.  He knocked out a new book in an hour and unveiled it yesterday as a ‘long-term’ project that took him from teaching.  He has a new suit fitting, meetings with a demonic editor, and plenty of classwork to plan.

And none of that is enough to make him move and stop staring at the smile in his reflection.

He knows now what he felt back then when he looked at Akira was always love.  He thinks of how love’s ugly reflection warped that feeling and knows he’s always had a problem with jealousy.  The night Akira came to him with his _problem_ , Ryo threw money at him, angry and heartbroken.  Believing then that he could never be what Akira wanted.  He dragged his friend home the next morning and sat on his chest.  Akira slept like the dead, stinking of sex and blood and viscera.  Ryo came very near to crying over the loss he felt that day.

Now he stares at his reflection.  He’s not the same person.  He’s not some amnesic, divine creature.  And Akira is not a Devilman.  And that is good.  They will be new together.

 

* * *

 

 

The morning ticks away slowly.  Ryo is just getting ready to go for his suit fitting when he stops to check his emails.  He finds himself laughing in the living room.  He passes classwork on to his TA and leaves Tanaka with a list of chores and a menu for tonight’s dinner.  Cancels the appointments with his book people and postpones his date with the tailor.

He grabs his computer bag and leaves to clean up a mess made on their last hunt.  It seems someone took photos of them when they were celebrating, and while Ryo appears as a bright white smear, Akira is clear as day. Dick out and covered in blood.

Ryo grins as he explains it to his evil editor over the phone, “Forget about today.  I have something else to do.  In fact, I’m probably going to murder someone.”  The man panics on the line but Ryo hangs up and starts following the trail of the imbecile that dared try and blackmail him.  What he finds is very interesting.  He can’t crack it with mere code.  He concludes there’s more to it.  “Oh,” he says grinning.  “This little worm knows how to hide their tracks.”  He has to exert his power and stretching a part of his awareness through the invisible webs of human data to find the real origin.

Ryo finds an unexpectedly talented hacker that’s trying to hold him up after a short trace.  The whole thing takes a few minutes, but he decides to follow his prey by tracking the GPS on his phone.  And after a few minutes that becomes unreliable.  He decides to set up a base camp in an internet cafe with his laptop out and plenty of good coffee on call.

It turns into an interesting afternoon.  Ryo stretching his skills against a merely ambitious mortal.  He lets the fool take a head start and takes his time.  But soon he corners the culprit, tracing a peculiar signature across different platforms before he finds its source.  A young boy working for a sleazy publishing company.  Ryo grins, closes his laptop and sets out to really take care of things.

He’s having so much fun anticipating what he’ll find.  Imagining some otaku or something that’s desperately saving up for his first sex robot.  It puts Ryo in a good mood for the whole drive over.  What he was not expecting is a trap.  At least, not _a good_ one.

 

* * *

 

 

What sane person would think to draw such an elaborate devil’s trap and include one his oldest and most holy names, written in blood?  It’s been tried before, but Satan never appears in the circle.  He’s usually off to the side, laughing about the botched summoning.  But this meticulous trap was designed to _not_ look satanic.  It looked like a boring loft apartment, full of sex dolls and geek paraphernalia.  A wholly unremarkable space.  No chanting, no candles.  But when Ryo walked into the center of the room, he was held fast.  And with a long sigh, he looked down with his real sight and saw the circle of blood under the carpet.

Who would do such a thing, he wondered, more amused than he’d been in a long, long time.

“Do you know what love looks like?”

Ryo turns as much he can and finds the boy he was looking for.  Young Akiba, age sixteen.  And his mind is like most boys in his class and age range.  Again, wholly unremarkable.  Ryo smirks, “Come here.”

“Oh no,” says the boy.  “I not coming anywhere near you in that thing.”  He waves a finger, “It’s said if the devil catches you in the trap, he can dispel it with your own blood.”

Ryo shrugs, “I wouldn’t know.  I’ve never been trapped before and what makes you think I’m a devil?”

“Not a devil,” corrects the boy.  “ _The_ Devil.  You are Satan himself.  And the love of my life tasked me to keep you out of the picture.  You’re not moving from that spot.  And if you do,” he says while taking his phone out his pocket, “I’ll send that picture to everywhere and everyone.  He will never live a normal life again.  He will be hunted and killed.”  The boy grins, confident in his plans. 

It’s almost refreshing to have to deal with a naughty student.  Ryo sighs, “So.  This love of your life…”

“I’m not saying.  You’re not getting any names out of me, Devil.”

“I’d prefer it if you called me Ryo.  Professor Ryo Asuka.  I’m a doctor of…”

“Shut up!”  The kid pulls on headphones and sits down across from the circle.  “You may as well save your breath, Devil.  You are not dealing with an amateur.”

Ryo watches the boy as he puts on a brave front.  Pretending to be unbothered by the force contained in a shitty circle in this bachelor pad.  But he keeps his distance.  Keeping his music loud enough to burst eardrums.  Ryo grins again and sits down cross-legged in the circle.  “My, have times changed.  It happened in the blink of an eye, but technology is magical, wouldn’t you say?”  Ryo grins and pulls out his own phone. 

The boy frowns, “The hell?”

Ryo opens his messenger and pushes his thoughts at the little computer, typing away without pressing a button.  “Marvelous things.  And with my phone plan, I almost never lose my signal.  Is your phone so reliable?”

The boy stares wide-eyed, “Give me that!  Shut up and give me that damn phone!”

Ryo leans forward, “Come and get it.”

“Fuck!” The kid kicks his sofa and circles around the mark mumbling to himself.  “Fuck this!”

Ryo sighs, “It’ll only be a few moments.   According to this, my ride home is just getting out of class.”

The kid is having a complete meltdown, pulling his own hair and pacing the floor, “I got to get out of here!  What if she…”

“She,” says Ryo.  He fishes for more info, and in the boy’s mind is a clear image of this contractor.  A famous pop idol who was happy to suck his dick.  Ryo rolls his eyes, “You’ve got to be kidding me.  For all that, you could have paid for it with cash.  Why risk your life?”

“You don’t understand what love is!  You’re just a demon!”

Ryo looks down at his phone and sees Akira’s little tracker is ticking closer and closer.  Moving unnaturally fast in a straight line to their location.  “He’s flying in broad daylight?  You’ll really get to see something now.”

“Shut up!”  Akiba runs for the front door of his home but it’s too late.  The glass of all the windows is blown out with the force of Akira landing on the side of the building and tearing his way inside.  The kid screams and tries to stumble out of the door, even with glass and debris injuring him.

“Stay the fuck where you are!” 

Ryo pretends to be bothered by the sight of Akira running forward and smashing the kid against a hall, then tearing an arm off.  He raises a hand, “Hey now!  That’s just a child, Devilman.  Someone would have put him up to this, don’t you think?  Let him down.  Bring him here.”

Akira does as he’s told while staring down at the devil trap.  He hisses at the thing and slaps it with the boy’s arm.  The spell is dispelled with the blood spatter, and Ryo walks out of it.  He holds the kid’s chin up, “Answer time.  What’s her name?  What’s her real name?  Not the skinbag.”

The kid stutters and faints until Akira gives him a rough shake.  “Answer him!”

“Nari!  No… no… Uriel.”

Ryo frowns, “Uriel?”  He steps away and tilts his head trying to listen for the ringing of his brothers.  The calls for mercy and patience elude him.  Ryo dismisses his worry, “No.  That’s impossible.  An imposter.  Uriel?  We don’t… they wouldn’t act like this.  They wouldn’t use you.”  He sneers, “They _love_ you.  They obey.”

“I don’t know what you mean.  Please, let me go.  Get me to a hospital.  I won’t tell anyone anything.  I’ll delete the pictures…”

“No, I’ll delete them.”  They’re gone with a thought and flick of his power.  But the good time torturing some depraved kid has been soured with this news.  He looks to Devilman, “Amon, you can have him.  I need time to think.”

Ryo walks out on Amon’s fanged grin while the boy screams and screams and screams.

What started as a bit of fun has turned into a serious problem.  And he can’t deal with it alone.

 

* * *

 

 

Akira comes down while Ryo is just starting the car.  “What was that about?”  He looks panicked as he comes down wrapped in a towel with a bag over his shoulder.  He heads for the trunk and changes right there before getting in the car.  He turns to Ryo while zipping up his spare jeans, “You heard me?  What the fuck was that about?”

“I don’t know.”  He’s busy still looking things up on the internet.  Not just looking at text posts but following everything Akiba ever touched up to now.

Akira reaches over and tries to snatch the phone, “What’d he do?  He was crying the whole time.  I had to eat him head first…”  He pauses, “But he wasn’t a demon, was he?”

“No.”

Akira tenses, “I thought you didn’t want me doing that anymore?!”

“I don’t care what you do.”

“Hey,” Akira snaps and actually takes the phone out of his hand.  “Are you listening to me?  You just called me up to eat a guy!  I was in class, remember!”

Ryo takes his phone back, “I remember.  How’d the book report go?”

“Well I got a ninety, and the professor said she… hey!  Don’t do that!  We’re talking about the guy I just ate!”

Ryo shrugs, “You ever heard of her?”  He shows Akira a picture on his phone of the Nari woman.

Akira nods, “She’s that’s new game’s angel voice.  I don’t really play shit like that, but she’s really sexy in real life, so I don’t mind all the posters and shit.  Some of my classmates are really into her.”

“Did you know Akiba?”  Ryo does another search, looking deeper into what he finds about a game called Firmament.x14r.  It looks like the typical first-person shooter, but the enemies are demons and the players are led around by about barely dressed angelic figure.  Ryo flips through pictures of Akiba at his school, “He was a prodigy.  He recently dropped out.”

Akira shakes his head, “Never seen him before.”

Ryo turns to look him in the eye, “And what about Uriel?”

“Urinal?  You gotta pee?”

“Uriel, you idiot.  Ever hear that name?  Perhaps in hell.  Was he the one who really released you?”

Ryo frowns, “No.  I told you.  I told you what happened.”  He sighs and holds his head, “I don’t like thinking about it.  You know that.  And now you made me eat a guy.  You said I wasn’t going to have to do that… I don’t think I want…”  Tears start running down his face and he curls in on himself, “I don’t think I want to hurt anyone anymore, Ryo.  I feel really awful since you did that light thing.  My stomach’s turning.  I think I got that kid’s hat stuck in my teeth!”

Ryo rolls his eyes and slaps Akira on the chest, “Stop sobbing.  We’ll go home, and you can floss.”

Akira sobs all the way home, but he’ll just have to deal with it, thinks Ryo.  They may really be into some serious shit now.

 

* * *

 

 

“I’m going to need you your help.”

Akira frowns and sinks further in the tub.  He blows bubbles instead of answering so Ryo sits on the edge, “I’m serious.  I need you.”

“For what?  You got a nice juicy baby you want me to bite?”

“Don’t be vulgar.”  He slaps Akira on the back of the head, “I bought you something.  But you have to take it seriously.  It’s going to be hard work.”  He sighs and leans over letting his robe come open.  “And I’ll reward you for it.”

“Yeah,” says Akira staring down at his chest.  “That’s not necessary.  Nothing worth it.”

“Any way you want it.  Anywhere you want it.”

Akira dunks his head and comes back up, “That’s the deal anyway!  Just to get me to do homework.  You’ll have to do better than that!”

“And no school.  No classes.  No teachers.  Or homework.”

“Seriously.”

“For a week.”

“Pfft.”

“Two weeks,” sighs Ryo.  “And I’ll be at your beck and call.  _Either_ of you wants something, just ring a bell.”  He motions with his hand.

Akira slicks back his hair, “You're giving him a deal too?  What do you want from us?  We’re already killing all the rogue demons on your command.”

“Come and see.”

Akira gets out the tub and only has enough decency to grab a towel and cover his balls.  Otherwise, he follows, flopping with his big wet feet across the beautiful floors in their apartment.  They give Tanaka a brief scare as they come into Ryo’s rarely used office.  Akira stares at the space and drops the towel with his mouth hanging open.  “Woah- shit!”

“This is going to be the center of operations.  And you’re going to be my lead agent in this very important mission.”  Ryo set up multiple monitors and consoles all for hosting the online game and tracking the other players.  “Should you choose to accept.”

“I do!”

“Great.  Then go put on some pants and sit down and start playing.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.  I’ll be right here with you.”

Akira starts sobbing, “I had a dream once, that’d I find a girlfriend interested in sitting around a bikini while I did whatever I wanted and played games and shit.  This is so close to that.  I don’t know what to say.

Ryo sighs, “I’m not wearing a bikini.”

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

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